RobW

Hello Tim and all, I have done some more research on my Type 1 and have found what I think are some minor differences compared to those items posted so far. These are my observations only and do not come from a position of experience, so I could be totally wrong or off the mark. I have outlined the areas in question with a red or blue marking. The details are: Obverse * A slightly narrower bordered edge on the arms of the cross. * A different spacing of the lines on the arms; mine seems to be imperceptibly closer than those previously illustrated. * Slight differences in the bayonet handle and the gap between the bayonet lug and helmet. * The position and detail of a rivet on the top spline of the helmet (this could be a trick of the light) * Minor differences in the rolling clouds on the top. Reverse * A convex base on the crown. * Minor detail differences on the leaves. * A slightly larger signature and different placement against the stalk and bottom leaves. Again this is all from an uninformed eye. Hope it is of use. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is another small vic mini group in my collection. It is 'court mounted' where the ribbon forms part of the backing behind the medal in contrast to the 'swing mount' mini group previously posted. L-R: * Distinguished Service Order (with nice complete un-chipped enamels and intact top and bottom bars). * Military Cross. * 1914 Star with bar. * British War Medal. * Victory medal with Mention In Despatches emblem. * Defence Medal. * King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935. The Military Cross and other medals (War Medal, Defence Medal and Jubilee medal) are made of silver which has toned nicely giving a slightly iridescent patina depending on the angle and lighting when it is viewed. Regards, Rob

Hello Tim, Yes the cuban group is a nice one. I actually picked it up while looking for a totally different vic item. Right time and place. It is however, becoming a bit more difficult of late to obtain good pre-revolution cuban material. Regards, Rob

Hello Tim, Fun is a major part of the hobby as well. I often think I have reached an end point on collecting specific vic items from a particular country and then I see another pic of yet another variety, on places like these forums, and the chase and search continues. Regards, Rob

Thanks Paul. It is good to get the information out and amongst the collecting group. Makes for more interesting discussions. And we still can't get a separate forum thread for the vic series !! Regards, Rob

And the reverses. Regards, Rob

Here is a Cuban group from the mid 1930's with a locally produced gilt finished vic, mounted on a nice 'Libertad' bar. I have a number of cuban vics and this is one of the gilt variety. Group consists of: * Order of Military Merit 4th class cross, with dark red enamel. * Long Service medal, with 5 chevron devices. * Unofficial Cuban victory medal. * National Reconciliation medal, with 1 star device. The victory medal was not made by Chobillon in France and accordingly does not have the 'C.Charles' makers mark on the obverse. This vic was produced locally in Havana by the firm of Vilardebo & Riera. They were the official maker of the Cuban Army medals and decorations. It very closely resembles the official vic strike from Chobillon. Regards, Rob

And here it is. Regards, Rob

Hello Paul R and others, I picked my original Siam vic up early last year in Sydney, Aust after a long-ish search. As Tim B has indicated they are not cheap either. While both the Siam and Brazil vic are the scarcest of the set I would say that the Brazil vic is in fact the harder one to obtain. I will post better pics of obverse & reverse of the one in my collection shortly. Regards, Rob

Hello Tim, A bit of topic but; Yes I do collect other items but in the main as they relate to the vic series. I have a number of small and medium sized groups, full and mini, all with vics. My main theme would be the vic series and I look at the associated medals as the vic was generally not awarded in isolation (except maybe in the case of the U.S. who awarded the vic in place of a service medal, and had battle and service clasps etc...). I will be posting pics of a nice Cuban vic group later, same medal and theme. Regards, Rob

Paul, Sold for £595. The search for a similar group continues ! Regards, Rob

And the reverses. Regards, Rob

To all, I recently missed out on this group by a matter of hours but thought I would post the pics to see what the consensus is. The group was described as: * Order of the White Eagle, Knight with swords * Milosh Oblitch Bravery small gold * Milosh Oblitch Bravery small gold * Milosh Oblitch Bravery large silver * Retreat to Albania 1915 * Medal for Military Virtue 1883 * Balkan War medal 1912 * 2nd Balkan War Cross 1913 * 1914-1918 War Cross While there is a fair degree of damage to the Order of the White Eagle I would still have considered this a good group. Happy to hear from those with considerably more experience in this area than I. Regards, Rob

To all, This has already been posted by me in the thread 'Victory Medals of the World' but it really should be here as well. A Greece vic, unofficial type 2, in dark bronze. Diameter is 36.7 mm. Specimens have also been seen in a gilt finish. Regards, Rob

And the reverses. Regards, Rob

To all, As indicated in post #22 here are a couple of comparison pics of a regular French made Jap vic repro (on the left) and another French made cast copy repro (on the right). Note the smaller suspender ball, shallower level of detail and slightly pitted appearance, attributable to the casting process. The diameter of the cast copy is 34.6 mm compared to 35.8 mm for the standard French repro compared to 36.5 mm of the official strike. There is considerable flashing, pits, and filing marks on the rim indicative of the casting and finishing process. Hope it is of use.

And the obligatory close-ups. Regards, Rob

And the reverses.

To all, As a comparison here is another of my Belgian groups. To my untrained eye the Type 1 Fire Cross has some minor variations to that posted by both Tim B and Gldank. Hope it is of use. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is another official Czech vic with 'O.Spaniel' makers mark and a barrel suspender. This particular coarse ribbon type is seen less often than that on the previously posted czech vic pics. It is also seen on the different varieties of the Czech produced Belgian vic model. For some reason the recipient lightly buffed this piece. Regards, Rob

Hello Dieter3, Agreed the ribbon does have a very vivid colour. I have seen other specimens where the ribbon colours are particularly bright. Not being able to see the entire obverse and reverse I couldn't comment on your statement that it could be a replacement or a copy. I have seen many copies of the Japanese vic and they are not this good. The reverse of the ribbon has the standard 'hook and eye' although I am bemused why the hook is not actually behind the eye but that is a minor thing. I would say it looks okay pending a better look at the obverse and reverse. You may want to inquire with Paul Murphy as well. Regards, Rob

Tim, As you have suspected it would be a more recent production ribbon. Apart from the more coarse contemporary ribbon seen in the U.K. there are also numerous other patterns eminating from continental Europe. Regards, Rob

Tim, The first official Czech vics were produced with the cylinder suspension, as for those produced by Alexander Leisek. At some indetermined point in time the Kremnice mint changed the suspension to the more commonly seen barrel suspender. The vast majority of the Czech vics I've seen have had the barrel suspender. I have the medals awarded to members of both the Czech-Italian and Czech-Russian legion and they were both vics with barrel suspenders. Subsequent to the official strikes all the remaining re-issue strikes produced later after World War 2 have also got the cylinder suspender. It is good to have some variety. In regards the ribbon colours I obtained most of my Czech vics direct from dealers in the present Czech Republic hence the nice non faded ribbons. There is a large variety of coarse ribbon types seen with the Czech vic as well. Regards, Rob

Tim, As an aide here are some italian vics with original ribbon. I have confirmed this to be so through various italian medal forums and collectors. The pictures should show a consistent sort of ribbon variety. There are a couple of other varieties which are seen on earlier issued italian vics where the ribbon is less blended. Kev from Deva had both varieties in one of his posts. The pin holes seen on some of the ribbons are from the plain safety pin that was used to hold the medal to the corresponding award certificate ! From L-R: Official type1, type 2, type 3, type 3a, type 4, re-issue type 1, and unofficial type 1. Hope it helps. Regards, Rob

To all, A Greece vic, unofficial type 2, in dark bronze. Diameter is 36.7 mm. Specimens have also been seen in a gilt finish. Regards, Rob