Queen's South Africa

[Avitas]

Hello Gents,

I picked up my first QSA about a month ago and I thought I would test out my new (and inferior to my old AGFA) scanner. This example has had the name erased which seems to be somewhat common, and has the Transvaal, Driefontein, Paardeberg, and Modder River clasps. This medal is the type 2 version and has faint ghosting of the date. Any comments are welcome.

Thanks,

Pat

Edited March 27, 2009 by Avitas

[Avitas]

Here is the reverse of the Type 2 Boer War Medal. I wish the name hadn't been erased, but at least its a nice example.

Thanks,

Pat

[Guest Darrell]

Pat,

Nice patina on this one. Shame about the name.

I've been humming and hawing over getting one of these for a long time ... I may get a group of medals that includes this guy. These are a whole collection focus themselves. Thanks for showing.

P.S. The "reverse" you show is actually the "obverse" ;)

Edited March 27, 2009 by Darrell

[Ed_Haynes]

A few points:

The obverse shows Victoria. The reverse is that allegorical scene.

Erased medals are, to my experience, neither common nor desirable. They surely have zero research value. And close to that in "market value". The clasp "qualification" becomes meaningless without naming. Sorry.

This is a fairly common medal, though prices have zoomed recently (as they have on all things).

The standard (real) dealers have these in quantity.

Consulting a standard reference book (British Battles and Medals?) is always a good idea.

[Avitas]

Thanks Darrell and Ed for the info,

I knew in the back of my mind about the obverse/reverse thing but somehow it makes more sense to have the Monarch on the back I paid less than market value for it (170 Canadian dollars, not sure if that is a fair price for this example) and it was sold as an introductory medal to the QSA's. The dealer has a couple more named examples that he is asking almost twice as much for. Also, out here in Western Canada it is almost impossible to find any selection of reference books, if anyone knows of a good source please let me know. I have the Medal Yearbook which has some prices mentioned but that is it for British books for me. I just wanted an example to accompany my ww2 and ww1 British medals, maybe I'll delve deeper in this area in the future.

Thanks,

Pat

[Brian Wolfe]

Thanks Darrell and Ed for the info,

I knew in the back of my mind about the obverse/reverse thing but somehow it makes more sense to have the Monarch on the back I paid less than market value for it (170 Canadian dollars, not sure if that is a fair price for this example) and it was sold as an introductory medal to the QSA's. The dealer has a couple more named examples that he is asking almost twice as much for. Also, out here in Western Canada it is almost impossible to find any selection of reference books, if anyone knows of a good source please let me know. I have the Medal Yearbook which has some prices mentioned but that is it for British books for me. I just wanted an example to accompany my ww2 and ww1 British medals, maybe I'll delve deeper in this area in the future.

Thanks,

Pat

Hi Pat,

Hmm, "the Monarch on the back", now there's tinder for a heated debate, especially on a British based forum. I'm sure this was tongue-in-cheek.

I rather like the medal, though as Darrell and Ed pointed out it has its flaws.

Regards

Brian

[censlenov]

I once bought a partially erased QSA but with the details that remained i was able to piece together who the recipient was and about 2 years later through sheer chance managed to have it reunited with his KSA and ww1 medals. Talk about saved from the scarp pile. As for $170cdn not a terrible price considering our crap dollar at the moment. If your serious about delving into this field i'd be more than willing to help you with research and checking over perspective purchases as i'm sure many here would be.

Cheers

Chris

Edited March 28, 2009 by censlenov

[Avitas]

Hi Pat,

Hmm, "the Monarch on the back", now there's tinder for a heated debate, especially on a British based forum. I'm sure this was tongue-in-cheek.

I rather like the medal, though as Darrell and Ed pointed out it has its flaws.

Regards

Brian

Hence the whistle , a little tongue in cheek indeed...

Thanks for all the responses,

Pat

[Mervyn Mitton]

Erased medals are probably more common then you would think - we see quite a number brought into the shop - and as has been pointed out on another post the value is limited. However, broken-up they are valuable, as genuine bars and mounts are very hard to find. The reason why the medals are defaced is interesting - the families often don't want the medals but, are ashamed to sell something with their name. This was particularly so in the past when there seemed to be more family pride.

I could post a board with twelve different QSA's - all to good units, but as prices are on labels would need Committee permission.

Mervyn

[leigh kitchen]

In the early 1970's I was after an 8 clasp QSA to a Grenadier Guardsman, unfortunately when my mother called at the shop to buy it (down Villiers Street, under Charing Cross Station) it had sold - so she bought a QSA & KSA pair to the British South Africa Police - & the QSA was a blatant renaming rather than a serious attempt at fakery. Presumably like so many renamings of the Anglo-Boer War & WWI, renamed to replace a lost, stolen or pawned medal.

Is there any chance of making out the erased name?

[Michael Johnson]

For impressed naming I'm told that an x-ray will show the name, as the metal is thicker where the letters were (due to the impressing) and so shows a ghost image.

[Guest Darrell]

For impressed naming I'm told that an x-ray will show the name, as the metal is thicker where the letters were (due to the impressing) and so shows a ghost image.

I've heard the same thing. Hopefully you could find someone that can do this. It would be interesting to see the results :cheers:

[Avitas]

Hmmm, so I need to bribe a doctor to x-ray my medal! That would be very cool as I can't really make out anything besides a bunch of scratches where the name was. The bars are all original to the medal so it would be nice to know. If anyone knows of someone with a connection please let me know.

Thanks!

Pat

[leigh kitchen]

"Black light" may work - if you don't have one, they can be bought for about ?5 - ?10, this company advertises a key ring UV torch. I've had partial success with these.

http://www.selectadna.co.uk/uv-lights.html

Edited April 1, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[leigh kitchen]

Thanks Darrell and Ed for the info,

I knew in the back of my mind about the obverse/reverse thing but somehow it makes more sense to have the Monarch on the back I paid less than market value for it (170 Canadian dollars, not sure if that is a fair price for this example) and it was sold as an introductory medal to the QSA's. The dealer has a couple more named examples that he is asking almost twice as much for. Also, out here in Western Canada it is almost impossible to find any selection of reference books, if anyone knows of a good source please let me know. I have the Medal Yearbook which has some prices mentioned but that is it for British books for me. I just wanted an example to accompany my ww2 and ww1 British medals, maybe I'll delve deeper in this area in the future.

Thanks,

Pat

Some studio photos show Victorian / Edwardian era soldiers wearing some of their medals to show the reverse. it's possble that they just did'nt bother to check that the discs were swivelled the correct way round, but I reckon it's likely that that they thought they'd perhaps show the monarch on one, & for the sake of interest show the reverses of others - a whole range of attractive landscapes etc were available.