Ed_Haynes

A nice medal for which, like most States' medals, the ribbon is much rarer than the medal, and the medals aren't at all common. A friend has a nice group with the Tripuira medal included. Let me see if I have a scan and he'll let me post it.

It was and still is a general merit award. Not only restricted to the military.

1- When were felt-tipped pens invented so that MacAuthur (Doug or any other one) could have signed this flag?? 2- "Jap"?!?!?!?!?

Until very recently, whatever scraps of ribbons that have survived decades of monsoon have been trimmed off by the primary medal wholesalers that trawl from village to village with limited knowledge and even more limited ethics, swooping up the goodies that find their way to the major dealers in Delhi and Mumbai. They usually come to market tied up in string. Only in the last few years have WWI groups not been sundered by metal (bronze going this way and silver that way). This pattern holds even for post-1947 groups (see below for an idea as to how they come to us). You have to get used to naked unbathed medals when do you Indian phaleristics.

Also unbathed and naked, but nice. 3953226 Sepoy Udham Singh, Dogra Regiment 1- Samar Seva Star - "3953226 SEP UDHAM SINGH DOGRA" 2- Raksha Medal - "3953226 SEP UDHAM SINGH DOGRA R" 3- Sangram Medal - "3953226 SEP UDHAM SINGH DOGRA" 4- Sainya Seva Medal "Jammu Kashmir" - "3953226 SEP. UDHAM SINGH, DOGRA R." 5- Videsh Seva Medal "United Arab Republic" - "3953226 SEP. UDHAM SINGH, DOGRA R." 6- UN UNEF - unnamed as usual While there has been an effort at either testing the silver-colored medals or at erasing the name on those, all is legible and the star is untouched.

If it is turtle, I am not sure sale would be allowed these days. Like ivory. You may need some expert opinion document establishing that it predates the ban on trade in pieces of endangered species' bodies.

Greece, Order of the Phoenix. http://www.medals.org.uk/greece/greece003.htm

Why is it so hard to believe that people of any age and of any politics can show patriotism and bravery? Unless, of course, one sees those as mere products of "propaganda", wherever they are encountered? I guess you could argue that, but then you'd have to apply it equally everywhere and in every era.

Put a bad enough picture on eBay and see the suckers flock to them . . . ???

1- When dealing with things where there is no established market and less of any established market value, all bets are off. Neither sellers nor buyers have any clue. 2- Any item, of course, is "worth" only what a given fool is willing to pay for it on a specific day. 3- ECON 101: Supply and demand. 4- When merchants sell to members of an occupying army, prices will go to the maximum possible.

There are other friends about who help me feed my habits!

There actually was one for sale with one of the Delhi dealers. Never asked the price, but you gotta wonder how it got there? The Indian government is not overly happy in paying any pensions to retired soldiers whose service was not to India, but rather to Britain. Just good he got the rank correction through the bureaucracy. Though it was probably a retirement-gift promotion to Naib Subadar (= Jemadar) in any case.

Or, to put it in a currency better known to us, WWI British War Medals (at current Delhi dealer prices): Rs. 2373 = BWM 1.87 Rs. 5000 = BWM 2.50

Good question, Kevin. As of today: Rs. 2373 = US $58.64 = GB ?29.17 = ?43.11 Rs. 5000 = US $123.61 = GB ?61.48 = ?90.88

Close-up of his ribbons.

Here -- while he is still around-- is General M wearing what I think is this new medal as his last decoration.

106-year-old WWII Veteran's Pension Case Settled Times of India, 7 June 2007

Detail shot of the gongs.

Having lodged recently in one of those hotels that have exotic travel magazines in the rooms, showing expensive places folks like us could never afford to visit, much less afford to stay or eat in . . . . I noticed, as part of an article on unknown Greek islands (I assumed no one ever asked the folks who live there?), an interesting photo of a proud veteran wearing his medals.

Seems pretty permanent to me.

I smell danger looming. What started out as a powerful and interesting thread is now getting dangerously close to spiraling out of control. Please, everyone, step back.

I am not sure many outside of Mongolia have been collecting that long in any serious fashion. Still, many good points here. Someone could do a sociology, or psychology, or even economics study of Mongolian phaleristics?

For a thread on the Hungarian Zalka M?t? Commemorative Medal 1956, see: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19808

Sudan Medal Bronze. The 1918-1922 variety, awarded by Husain Kamil

Sudan Medal Bronze. The 1910-1917 variety, awarded by Abbas II Hilmi.