Republic of Ireland Irish Militaria / Medal auctions

[irishmedals]

So, with the two auctions in Dublin soon who wants what..........catalogues now online.

Pointless us all bidding against each other and falsely inflating prices. We can surely all contact each other and politely request "i wish to bid on lot#" etc etc.

Some nice items but not as good as previous years. In the catalogue there are some vastly different estimates and valuations. Is lot# 670 really worth 35,000 - 45,000??? i thought more like 20K maximum as it is still a regular grouping and not a KIA group. Yes indeed if it was a KIA group it might be worth 35K but not as is. Perhaps i am wrong but i think 45K is well over estimated bearing in mind lot # 668 is only valued at 9K and is quite simlair without the armband. Is the recipients name really worth 36K?

The Sean Mac Diarmada 1916 medal is a beauty. Anyone interested??? Amazing to think two medals of the signatories of the 1916 Proclaimation would go for auction within a year or so of each other.

Good luck to all that bids.

[redcross]

if one is whytes - who is the other?

[molders]

The other auction is in Adams.

I viewed Whytes today, some nice stuff in it but nothing too exciting in it for me. Lots of books and other non-related items but there are a few good Collins/Ashe letters.

Anyone want to guess at the price that the two good medal lots will end up?

[redcross]

thanks

sadly neither has any of the Red Cross medals I'm looking for,

but I was surpised at their estimates

for the national defence red cross medals [which thankfully I have]

I didn't think they had gotten so high

[irishmedals]

The other auction is in Adams.

I viewed Whytes today, some nice stuff in it but nothing too exciting in it for me. Lots of books and other non-related items but there are a few good Collins/Ashe letters.

Anyone want to guess at the price that the two good medal lots will end up?

Tough call - what they end up at and what they are worth are two hugely different figures!

The Sean Mac Diarmada 1916 medal is the jewel, depending how many collectors bid against each other determined to get it, perhaps as much as 100K same sort of price as the Tom Clarke medal. A more realistic price would be ???

Lot #670, the Paudie O'Keeffe group, open to debate. As previously noted it is a great set but not a KIA grouping. My own personal idea of valuation would be 20K, but i'd be interested to know what others think. At the end of the day it is an regular set of medals with provenance and not the much rarer officially named and numbered medal set.

I'd be interested to know others ideas of valuations - however i don't think anyone is going to show their hand before the auction.

I'm not going for either lots, not at the hugely inflated prices they estimate they are asking.

[molders]

One down, one to go. Yesterdays auction was a long drawn out affair. It was still going at 7.30 when I left. The main medal group made 23K, which was about what I expected it to make, the supporting documentation which was all in a box was very good with lots of invites to Republican functions, signed Dev items etc. It was a very nice group. Collectors may also be interested to know that both of the sword of light Bolands Mills badges in the Kavanagh medal lots, were hall marked and stamped "Sterling" on the rear. Both lots also had the original boxes that these badges were presented in; clear plastic face with grey plastic back.

I got a few lots but was most pleased with the Sweetman IV belt/bandolier lot. In my opinion both are of pre-1916 construction. The belt buckle is made from a ferrous metal and the bandolier is of non-standard British Army construction. Also in this lot was a set of early IV wool puttees, Sweetmans leather case and the bag of shot for a black powder pistol.

It will be interesting to see how Adams goes. Overall I felt that prices at yesterdays sale were about what I had expected, (except for the Fianna medal lot) Some of the postcard lots made surprisingly good prices, but some of the top end letters I think went "cheap".

Anyone else have an opinion on yesterdays sale? Anyone buy any of the "big" lots?

[irishmedals]

Anyone else have an opinion on yesterdays sale? Anyone buy any of the "big" lots?

Didn't purchase yesterday as keeping my powder dry to bid on the Sean Mac Diarmada 1916 medal.......that is if Irish1916 doesn't hijack my bid!!! He isn't saying much on this forum at the minute which speaks volumes about his intentions Even Ceallach is quiet

The calm before the storm!!!

[Irish1916]

Didn't purchase yesterday as keeping my powder dry to bid on the Sean Mac Diarmada 1916 medal.......that is if Irish1916 doesn't hijack my bid!!! He isn't saying much on this forum at the minute which speaks volumes about his intentions Even Ceallach is quiet

The calm before the storm!!!

I will be absent for Adams this year, as i was for Whytes.

A quick check on ebay (advanced search) showed two major players with only a total of 6 purchases,mostly minor, i bought nothing, molders claims only a few bits , irish medals says he got nothing:

And sale prices were at a much more normal level , 1916 at 4K, Comments Gentlemen ?

[Paul L Murphy]

In previous years Whyte's has tended to get lower prices than Adams, even for directly comparable items. I would wait and see the results from Adams before we can have a view on the price level at the moment. I am also sitting out these two, there are many other items I want to get at this price level before I buy another 1916 Medal.

[molders]

On Saturday I bought 5 lots; two boxes of assorted paperwork/pamphlets/books, one of the Ashe letter lots, the Sweetman IV belt lot and the South Irish Horse framed items. I was happy with the lots I did get and was outbid on one or two others, but I didn't have a shot at any of the bigger lots. Theres a couple of items in Adams that are of more interest to me right now. There were people in the room I hadn't seen before who were bidding big. I did notice the guy from the National Library there and while he did buy some items he was outbid on some others. I also met Aine Broy, daughter of Eamon Broy of Dublin Castle/Garda commissioner fame prior to the auction and spent over an hour in conversation with her. I asked her to sign my catalogue and in doing so for once with this hobby acquired an autograph that I didn't have to pay for!

Next Tuesday will be interesting, theres a few very nice items in that auction which will give a better indication of where prices are going.