RobW

Hello Rick, Excellent work on the re-shuffle and reorganisation. Having all the specific threads in their own country locations will make a measured improvement to the forum and general discussion. It will also all the other posters, lookers, and collectors to easily find specific information without having to wade through a 37 page single thread. I am sure the general vic enthusiasts will be appreciative of your efforts. Regards, Rob

The finding of document groups, to go with the actual medals, is quite difficult when it comes to Japanese awards. In a lot of cases these groups are split apart with the documents being sold separately to the medals themselves. It is quite a shame because they make such attractive complete groups once all the items are together. One needs to be very circumspect when obtaining Japanese groups as you can never be sure if the documents you have are all the recipient was entitled to. In the case of the group of documents that the linked post mentions, there were: 1914-15 Tsingtao War Dispatch Medal document (Dated November 7, 1915) 1914-20 Siberia War Dispatch Medal document. (Dated December 15, 1919) 1920 WW1 War Victory Medal document. (Dated December 15, 1919) There is reference, on those documents, to the recipient also being awarded the fifth class of the Order of the Rising Sun or the Order of the Sacred Treasure. So in this particular case we know that there should be at least two more documents to the group to that recipient. The effort to resurrect such a complete group can take a lot of time. This is also what makes it so much fun Regards, Rob

To all, Here is one of my Indian groups. It was awarded to a Headman of the Supply and Transport Corps. As Paul has indicated they are not particularly easy to obtain even in VF condition. They also rarely come with the original ribbons. Regards, Rob

Hello Bill, As time marches on so does the availability of original era ribbon, including the very finely made 'silk' ribbons. It is becoming much more difficult to obtain such ribbon especially to remount Commonwealth groups. More and more we see the much more current era ribbons produced and they are nowhere near the same quality as the earlier 1920s-1930s ribbons. Most of the newer ribbons are quite unblended and certainly do not look as good as the original. Of course this doesn't include the Czechoslovak produced ribbons which were of a coarser weave and unblended in the first instance. When I am remounting groups, or even singles, I will always attempt to obtain earlier era ribbons despite the rising prices. Regards, Rob

Hello Bill, Noting your comment about the planchet colour being more gold than brass, would you class it as a gold-gilt finish or more of a brassy finish? When seen side-by-side these two varieties are immediately different. Once you find one variety of the Reissue type 2 you then need to find the other. Regards, Rob

Hello Lambert, Yes; it seems obtaining good quality Portuguese groups is becoming harder to do. Sometimes not all the individual pieces are in good condition. In this case all the pieces are in a good condition which adds to the group as a whole. Sometimes it is the unusual groups, like those awarded to nurses, medical staff, support staff, that have interesting stories to them. Yes, it is an unofficial strike of the Portugal vic but not one I have seen before. I am glad you like the group. Regards, Rob

Hello Lambert, I do not know who the recipient of this group was. Unlike the Commonwealth countries that named their medals on the rims, other countries did not follow such practices and issued the medals unnamed. It is, however, possible that the recipient was of the medical service, hence the Red Cross award. Groups from Portugal are not often found. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is a simple Portuguese group of 4: * Order of the Portuguese Red Cross, Officer * Military Medal for Exemplary Behaviour, gold * Victory medal * Portuguese Legion Dedication Gold medal You will note that the vic has had the suspender repaired. It is quite probable that the thick wire suspender replaced a ball or some other suspender. Regards, Rob

Hello IrishGunner, I would recommend that all information goes into the country specific threads. Tim B and I discussed it the time that the vics received their own special interest area and it was on the list of things to do. Some of the gross duplication could, as you have suggested, be removed in due course. Regards, Rob

I would agree. The reason specific country threads were established is so each was a 'one-stop' area for that country. This avoided the somewhat meandering that occurred in the single 37 page thread. While country threads may change tack on occasion at least all the information specific to that vic is in the one spot. Regards, Rob

Hello Bill, A nice pickup and example. It is not altogether unusual to see small die errors in these official type 1's. At least the Leisek makers marks are nice and strong. They have also been seen with quite muted and soft marks. Regards, Rob

Hello IrishGunner, Welcome aboard. Regards, Rob

Hello Lambert, There is an official Siam vic currently up for auction ebay (auction no: 121038792722). While it is a bit more worn than usually seen it is an official strike nonetheless. Regards, Rob

Hello Martin, The re-issue type 1 is of a very much lighter bronze finish. In addition it has a number of die differences compared to the official type1. The comparison post in the much larger main pinned thread shows the differences clearly. Yes; very much so. They are distinctive and are seen a bit more regularly than the re-issue type 1. Most definitely yes; The repro type 1 has a slight irridescent finish and has a clearly defined casting line present on the rim. The repro type 2 is extremely hard to find and has a much lower level of detail than the official version. There have been a number of pictures of the repro type 3 in this forum so that is a good reference. Regards, Rob

To one and all, Noting some other references to Alex Laslo's book on the Interallied victory medal series, there is such a copy of the 2nd Edition listed on ebay at the present. Such volumes do not appear all that often. It is auction number: 140898513320. At the time of posting there is but 23 hours remaining of this auction, and it has a reserve price. Regards, Rob

And here are the close-ups. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is another variety of the Milosh Obilich bravery medal. It is a gilt finished bronze variety in 36 mm. The bronze can be seen with wear to the high points of the medal. It has no makers mark on the reverse. Apart from an illustration of such an example in the reference book 'Serbian and Yugoslavian Orders and Decorations' by Pavel Car, I can find no other reference to this particular variety. It comes from an unknown manufacturer. Any thoughts would be welcomed. Close-ups of just the medal to follow. Regards, Rob

Hello Martin, I would definitely agree that the named British vics, to all the commonwealth countries, would maintain a higher value due to the attribution as well as the ability to conduct research into the recipient. Unfortunately with the other country issues, that are not named, such research is difficult. In regards the Belgian and Italian vics both are seemingly plentiful in the market hence the similar values, despite there being more sub-varieties of the Italian model. Regards, Rob

Martin Burr, on 19 Dec 2012 - 08:53, said: Is there a rough guide as to the ballpark values of each version? Martin To all, I have re-posted this post from the fakes sub-forum as it has relevance to the general topic of vic medal values. Any other views would be appreciated? Regards, Rob

Hello Martin, The question on medal values is probably one of the most discussed topics in any collecting field. There is two areas here that need to be understood; market values and collector values. I think a close look at sales on the various online auction houses, ebay sites, and other online medal dealers should give you a general guide as to the prices you could expect for each of the varieties. There is then what a specific collector will pay for the same item; and this may not always be consistent with the market value. I think the numbers minted estimate that is listed in the now increasingly dated Laslo reference, are a good guide, to the relative scarcity of each variety. That should at least give you an indication as to how frequently different pieces turn up in the market. That, in turn, should provide a guide as to what sort of price range you are likely to be looking at, to obtain the piece. I would recommend you keep a price list and update it over time. This will give you a bench-mark to the prices listed. This won't take into account one-off's or other single anomalies for pieces that are just so hard to achieve (I use the hallmarked Brazil official type 1 as an example) but it would be a start. Regards, Rob

Hello Martin, I would suggest (if you can) that you hold off on obtaining any more pieces for your collection and buy the book instead. It is, as you stated, a good reference book well worth having. Having the book is a precursor to the knowledge and would better inform and guide subsequent purchasing choices. The value of a good reference work cannot be underestimated, especially in such an international field as the vics. Regards, Rob

Hello Martin, Welcome to the group. Considering that the vendor resides in the Czech Republic it is not unusual for them to sell just the Czech vic. I have obtained a number of pieces from that vendor and he is reputable. He is also a member of this forum! Regards, Rob

Hello Lambert, While the item in question is quite well worn it is a nice official strike. The Siam vic is becoming much harder to obtain at a reasonable price. Regards, Rob

Hello Jovan, Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find many experienced collectors here, on the vic series, that will be able to help with any queries. I would suggest this is moved to the 'Other Victory Medal / Related Items' sub-thread. That way the focus of this thread can be the French victory medal. If you have a picture you may want to post it on the 'Other Victory Medal / Related Items' sub-thread for the benefit of all the vic collectors. Regards, Rob

Hello Bill, While the French made clasps are an interesting sideline, I would suspect the fact that the medal is engraved on the front and rim, is probably what attracted the attention. The US vic is seen occasionally with engraving of the recipients details on the obverse of the planchet but in this case it was related to the actual base, and the specific area, and still has the recipients details on the rim. That is unusual and certainly worth the attention. Noting the fact that Navy and Marine Corps personnel were only entitled to wear one clasp, irrespective of further qualifying service that would have accrued subsequent clasps, I would think that maybe the recipient served at the naval base in Cardiff on a Destroyer and then had later service in the White Sea in support of the Siberian expedition. This is, of course supposition but if the recipient wanted to accurately show all of their service the use of French produced clasps was one way to achieve that. Having a name inscribed on the rim would lead to possible research options. All in all a nice piece worthy of a place in a vic collection. Regards, Rob