Golden Jubilee Medal

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Guys,

Can anyone shine any light on this topic for me. We all know that the Jubilee Medal was issued in its thousands!!! Recently offical MOD replacement/copies have been minted, which I assume are stamped as such. But can anyone tell me how you tell the differnce between a copy/fake (should such a thing exist) and an original surely both will be of equally cheap appearance, so how do we tell the difference, and why have copies been made, are these to dupe the unwarey, surely not given the amount issued and the quality of them why would anyone what to go to the expense of copying a medal, that is just as cheap looking in its original form as a copy, and of no major value anyway.

Any thoughts anyone?

Or am I missing something?

Gordon.

[Nick]

Gordon

Copies have been made in their thousands. Despite its numbers the Golden Jubilee still demands a surprisingly high price compared to other mass distributed Coronation and Jubilee medals (1977 aside).

Copies are usually quite easy to detect when you know what to look for. Most of the copies I have seen have far to much detailing when compared to the originals, the lines around the Queens head are far too pronounced especially on her hair and gown. The originals have far softer lines to them.

Copies have a legitimate place as many people do not wear the original and have copies court mounted to be worn.

But beware of unscrupulous dealers who have been putting fake medals in original boxes, especially the Army Boxes. The Army distributed their medals with labels attached to the box detailing name rank and number. Quite a few of these boxes which were discarded by their owners have been found being sold with fake medals inside. Ebay has had a few of these about. There are also copy boxes out there but they do not usually come with the Royal Mint certificate.

[Ed_Haynes]

I have assumed that these e$cam so-called "official copies" were "fakes", no more, no less.

[bigjarofwasps]

Cheers Guys, has anyone got any pictures of the original and a copy so I can compare them?

I still can`t see how a mass produced and mass issued modern medal, could be copied? Surely a modern issue medal is just that, unless there is a clear difference in the quality?

[bigjarofwasps]

Could it not also be argued that if the copies are of great detail, then they are in fact better the the original?

[Ed_Haynes]

Real medals are those issued to a legitimate recipient on the authority of H.M.

Fake medals are medals (1) self-awarded by self-nominated-recipients and/or (2) sold at high prices to unsuspecting collectors.

??

Quality (alas) has nothing to do with it. (The GJ Jubilee medal is a sad example of the phaleristic "art".)

Edited December 11, 2005 by Ed_Haynes

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Guys, cheers for all your replies. I`ve also discovered that some copy medals are in fact marked as copy on the rear, which I suppose is one thing. I wonder if a copy NATO medal would be marked as such?

[Robin Lumsden]

The one shown in Post #14 in the thread below is an official issue one.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3287&hl=

[Nick]

This might help you. But which one is which ?

Copies/fakes are also used by legitimate medal holders when they do not want to wear their original medals. This is particularily so for certain gallantry awards which are far too valuable to be worn in public.

[Robin Lumsden]

Copy on the left, I think.

[Nick]

Copy on the left, I think.

Spot on.

The one on the right is an original.

[Ed_Haynes]

Spot on.

The one on the right is an original.

Yet neither is very attractive. To say the least.

[Nick]

Ed

I agree they are pretty cheap, nasty and to top it all not even officially named.

[Robin Lumsden]

Actually, I think they're pretty well made. The originals, that is.

[Tony Farrell]

I think it was Chris Boonthingy that described the obverse effigy of the copies as looking more like a clean-shaven Ernest Borgnine than our beloved sovereign. Anyhow. The copies have a slightly thicker rim than the originals, and (as Chris points out), Betty looks like she's been at the cakes on the copies. The general relief work is much crisper on the originals. Look out for the 'bitty' effect on the copies - like they were plated in a dusty environment.

[Tony Farrell]

Apologies for the pixellation on the above image but you get the general idea. The 'dudley' is on the left. Here's the reverse shots. Again, the dudley is on the port side.

[Tony Farrell]

... given the amount issued and the quality of them, why would anyone what to go to the expense of copying a medal - that is just as cheap-looking in its original form - as a copy, and of no major value anyway?

You mean like Special Constabulary LSMs, 14/15 Stars, BWMs, 39-45 Stars et al? Just clock eBay for your answer. Generally, because that clown in Birmingham (who manufactures the majority of this tat)... can!

[Ed_Haynes]

And also look at the prices which these (legitimate) medals bring on today's market. While not rare in absolute numeric terms, they are pretty rare on the market, as most recipients are still serving in whatever capacity they earned their EII Hannuka Geld Medal and they simply haven't come to market much, yet. Distinguish: "Rare" vs. "Rare on the Market".

Whatever else we may say about the design, al least she isn't wearing the Clown Crown from other recent gongs.

[Bilco]

Hi Gents - I know that there have been no posts on this thread for almost 6 years (!) but I wondered if the situation had changed/clarified. I was offered this medal in a London medal dealer's in a box with a certificate from the Royal Mint no less, attesting to it's genuine origin - but was it issued to anyone? If the Royal Mint is selling copies Gawd 'elp us all!

Bill

Edited July 18, 2011 by Bilco

[Craig]

Bill,

The medal was made by the Royal Mint and indded had a card in the box from the Royal Mint. They were issued un named so unable to tell who it was issued to. I will dig mine out and hopefully add a photo.

Craig

[Craig]

Bill,

The medal was made by the Royal Mint and indeed had a card in the box from the Royal Mint. They were issued un named so unable to tell who it was issued to. I will dig mine out and hopefully add a photo.

Craig

[Nick]

No naming on the medal, but a lot of military units had their names/numbers labelled on the box (printed on a white sticky label) for issue purposes. The one you saw was probably an original, the Royal Mint do not sell copies of this medal, but I have seen cases of replica/fake medals in original boxes.