irishmedals

Almost certainly the ribbon is a replacement. As rightly pointed out by Paul Murphy the weave is larger and definately no wear or signs of age. The ribbon looks very bright and new to me. The other photo on ebay that shows the front of the medals makes the ribbon look slightly too wide and it is squashed through the suspender pin. It was that seller who split the Tynan collection. Didn't he also try to sell a "very questionable" 1916 medal last year on ebay that he had to take off ebay as so many people contacted him about it being fake? Is the 1916 now on ebay the same medal as last year but with a different ribbon????

Most collectors of Irish medals or that period know the difference between fakes and originals. There are various fakes on the market, some of the first originated in Australia in the late 1990s but they haven't been around for several years. I think most are now made in Ireland but aren't that good. Anyone contemplating spending ₤500 never mind ?6000 on a medal would certainly look for solid provenance. The 1916 that sold for ₤6000 on ebay (as part of the Tynan group) is certainly not worth anywhere near that amount as it has now no provenance as it has been split from the paperwork that gave it the provenance. I don't think many collectors would now be interested in it simplying because of this. Anyone elses thoughts???

Probably almost impossible to determine how many there are as most are in private collections. Unless the manufactorors kept details of how many were made and who bought them we will probably never know. The manufactorors 'Quinn' are no longer trading so unless someone else has the details it will be impossible to know numbers made.

Probably impossible to know how many 1916 miniatures were made as they were privately ordered and purchased by the recipient. I've seen them with and without suspender bars but no idea if they were made like this or the recipient took off the suspender bar so they could court mount them on uniforms. I'll try to scan a miniature with bar on my next post and i know one collector who contributes to this forum who has the miniatures court mounted and he also might scan a photo?

Do you really think the Tynan collection was worth ?30,000??? 5 years ago what could we have bought it for, ?5K - ?6K. I think the medal market has been pushed too high because a small handful of collectors (me included) that have bidded against each other and perhaps falsely inflated the prices. How many can afford ?30,000??? only a small handful of perhaps 5 collectors. My point is that without that small group of collectors the Irish medals would not have rocketed in value so much simply because we bid against each other. It is also sad as now not everyone can afford a 1916 medal. If it continues what next for a collection??? ?40,000 - ?50,000??? incredible..... you can be sure they didn't miss it!!! "the walls have ears"! Everyone was all over it like a rash

In reply to Irish1916, yes it does beg the question - is the Irish medal market well over inflated? If the 3 or 4 major collectors (ALL decent, honest and honourable people i might add) didn't compete against each other perhaps the medals worth not be worth the prices they are now achieving? In the longer term those medals that cost so much at auction still be worth it? they could only be sold to a very small handful of people able to afford it. We might well be dedicated collectors with the right intentions of keeping the medals, but what about the following generation? will our kids really appreciate them or try to sell them when we are all gone? If someone today does pay ?10,000 for a 1916 medal, in years to come who can they sell it onto? who can their kids sell it onto if they don't want to keep our collections? not many as again no-one could afford it. I think if a 1916 medal came onto the marketplace and the 3 or 4 major collectors didn't bid we would see the real value of such medals...would be interesting! Have any of the newspapers picked up on the ebay seller yet???

I think the seller was trying to exploit the 'major' players by buying the medals at Whytes auctions then selling on ebay. I guess he thought they would come back in again and bid higher than they did at Whytes, how wrong could he have been! The 'major' players haven't taken the bait and the medals don't sell, he is left with medals that cost him over the odds. I hope no other member of this forum bids especially knowing the circumstances. He paid roughtly ?30,000 including auctioneers fees, taxes etc, he will be lucky to recoup half that amount judging by the poor bidding on his items currently listed.

I agree totally with Ed Haynes, Ulsterman and Molders that the only way to achieve this is to name and shame the person responsible in the media. I think the public pressure might ensure it is kept as a single collection and maybe if it is media highlighted the National Museum would purchase it. It's still a real shame what is happening.

Dear Gentlemen, It is a real shame the winning bidder from a recent Whytes auction in Dublin has decided to split the entire collection belonging to Vol. Daniel Tynan http://www.whytes.ie/4ImageDisplay.asp?AUC...&IMAGE=0981. I know 2 other bidders at that auction who would have cherished that collection and probably lent it to a museum for everyone to view and appreciate. It was one of the best grouping of medals and associated memorobilia belonging to a 1916 and War of Independence veteran i have ever seen. I think it sold for ?25,000 at Whytes and i guess the seller is trying to get some sort of profit afer his ebay auctions. The 1916 medal can be seen here: and the rest is on auction if you search or check the sellers other items. I appreciate the seller can do as he wishes with everything as he bought them and they belong to him, its just a shame it is being seperated and not sold as a complete lot. It is my own personal point of view that this collection should be kept together, not split and sold as seperate lots. If this is allowed to be done the Daniel Tynan collection will NEVER be together again which is extremely sad. The note at the end of the listing discription there is a copy and paste of the Whytes catalogue saying "A marvellous archive of immense interest to collectors of this period" - pity the seller doesn't think that way. I am sure Vol Daniel Tynan is turning in his grave at the thought of his collection being split and sent all over the world.