Victoria Cross replica

[Mervyn Mitton]

Yes, I agree with you. With this provenance and a known history this has to be about the closest you could get to an original.

I see a similar daily wear copy sold for over $4000 - it will be interesting to see what this one fetches ?

[achern]

I made an enquiry to Hancocks and they are still selling the numbered replicas. At this point the serial number is still below 200, so they have more than a thousand left to sell. It seems the take up is not so hot?

[Mervyn Mitton]

Hi - achern. That's interesting , I would have thought they would have been bought up for those collectors

who like to have 'one' of each medal. I've forgotten how much they were asking - but, possibly a good

long term investment ? Mervyn

[kjf101]

I would have also thought they would have sold more by now! Perhaps theri advertising of them is not good?

kevin

[achern]

I also think the asking price may be more than what most casual collectors are willing to pay - GBP395.00 - for a replica.

I wonder how many years it will take them to sell the other thousand.

[johnnyrocket]

FYI: Top military honour now cast in Canada: report

http://www.ctvnews.ca/top-military-honour-now-cast-in-canada-report-1.231701

http://www.jeanpaulleblanc.com/Canada1.htm

CTV.ca News Staff

Published Saturday, Mar. 3, 2007 11:21PM EST

A Victoria Cross medal has been produced in Canada for the first time, and there are reports it will be presented by the Queen in April.

The Globe and Mail reported Saturday that Queen Elizabeth will present the medal at a ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France.

The move would restore the medal -- awarded just 1,350 times since it was installed by Queen Victoria in the 1850s after the Crimean War -- to the top spot in Canada's list of military decorations.

Only 94 Canadians have received the medal.

The Victoria Cross was first awarded to a Canadian in 1856, and most recently in 1945. None of the recipients are still living.

In the past, the medals were cast by Hancock, a London jewellery retailer, but a source has told The Globe the medal has now been designed and produced in Canada for the first time.

Emmanuelle Sajous, deputy herald chancellor at Rideau Hall, said it would be at least a couple of weeks before final decisions are made about how the made-in-Canada Victoria Cross will be presented to the public.

"Nothing is confirmed," Sajous said. "We don't have any details about how and who and where and when. There are a lot of options and a lot of different events being planned."

The departments of Veterans' Affairs, Defence, Canadian Heritage and Natural Resources -- along with the Royal Canadian Mint -- have all been involved in the design.

Military historian Jack Granatstein told The Globe the physical reinstatement of the Victoria Cross is a milestone for Canada.

"There is clearly an attachment to the VC as a pretty scarce gallantry award," said the former director-general of the Canadian War Museum.

"It will be a continuation of the past and it will be done in a Canadian context. I guess in a sense it's the capping of the Canadian honours system so I think it's a good thing."

Government sources have told The Globe the medal will be presented to Prime Minister Stephen Harper by the Queen at the Vimy Ridge ceremony in recognition of the gallantry of the Unknown Soldier, whose remains rest in a tomb next to the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

The soldier, whose body was exhumed from a cemetery near Vimy Ridge in 2000, was one of 1,603 unidentified Canadian troops who died in the First World War battle.

The battle, which took place on April 9, 1917, is often considered a key moment in Canada's military history. Roughly 10,000 Canadians were wounded and 3,598 of those succumbed to their injuries.

The ceremony in April will serve two purposes. It will commemorate the anniversary of the battle and serve as the dedication for the newly restored Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

The Royal Canadian Legion has lobbied the government for years to reinstate the medal, which was put aside in 1972 in favour of a Canadian honours system.

The move to design and cast the medal in Canada should put an end to years of controversy over whether Canadian soldiers should receive an award that has British origins.

The Canadian VC is awarded for "most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."

There are few differences between the Canadian and British medals. The Canadian decoration can be revoked and it bears the Latin inscription Pro Valore rather than For Valour.

The British medals are cast from bronze of Chinese origin that was used in Russian cannons captured at the conclusion of the Crimean War, but there is no word yet on what type of metal will be used to make the Canadian medals.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/top-military-honour-now-cast-in-canada-report-1.231701#ixzz24QNwv4Sd

[peter monahan]

Very interesting development! Can't wait to see how they handle awarding it.

I must say, alluding to the original topic, if I had the 300GBP for a Hancock copy I'd probably buy one!

[achern]

You mean, the 400 pounds to buy one! :o

[Strapper]

From everything i have learnt about medal collecting, it is the provenance, history and man attached to the medal that give it any value at all.

Copies therefore should only be worth the cost of manufacture, anything else is just added puffery. Logic says you can't have a more valuable

"copy" than anyone else unless the quality of manufacture is better. Even then price difference should be marginal. Hancocks are charging a premium

because they are a step closer to the original than anyone else, but in my opinion... No act of valour=No value.

Regards

Strapper

[ukok]

kjf101

Was this what you were trying to post, thank you:)

Lorenzo

I've seen copies like that at auction for a few pounds.

Do not see the point in a £400 copy with no connection to the original medal, even with a certificate of " authenticity ".

What does it say ? " Yes, this is a copy " ?

[kjf101]

OKOK, are you kidding me, no connection to original medal?? The point is it is made by the original and only manufacturer of the VC. I have seen many copies that are cheaply made. This by far is the best. I would rather have a copy made by the manufacturer than none at all. I can only speak for myself but I can't afford an original awarded VC. If you can go for it!!

kevin

[howard bird]

I have one for swop or sale . It one of a few you can find as not for sale on open market

[Mervyn Mitton]

Howard - welcome to GMIC. I suggest you look at our for sale section - lower down the Forum. Show your copy with a

picture and you may well find a buyer. The discussion on this replica and it's price is because of Hancock's. You

will fid that a modern stamped out basic replica - which will still look like an original - sells for very little. Mervyn

[Alex K]

In the end, it depends on what you want. A COPY by the original manufacturer, or a copy by other sources. If it's for display purposes only, then why spend 400GBP when you can spend 20GBP, a copy made by the original manufacturer has no greater intrinsic value then one made anywhere else, it is still a copy and will be treated as such, fancy papework saying it is an authentic "Copy" doesn't really work in my book, you want the real thing, sell your house take out a great mortgage

regards

[Michael White]

I just purchased one, no. 258, so I don't think that they are issued in chronological order or that the number refers to any specific V.C. winner; just my humble opinion. I am, however, well pleased with the replica. I own 6 replicas and not one comes even close to the quality, significance, or value of the Hancocks & Co. speciman.

Mike

[Michael White]

Also, I've seen them on ebay numbered in the 300's so that dismisses the issueing in numerical order.

Mike

[peter monahan]

I agree, Mike. I have handled, briefly and years ago, two VCs and a couple of the eary Hancock copies and, besides the cachet of owning a copy made by the guys who make the real ones, the quality is beutiful. Were I a musuem or a collector who wanted a copy to stand in for all the real ones 'my' regiment had won, I'd buy a Hancock copy. I'm guessing they won't depreciate either and suspect the umbering is to prevent the crooks trying to 'convert' them into 'real' ones.

My two cents worth.

Peter

[Michael White]

I just asked, via email, a representative from Hancocks & Co. if the numbers on their Limited Edition V.C."s represent an individual and she replied "unfortunatley the numbers on the Replica Victoria Crosses, that Hancocks are producing, are only generic and do not represent an individual." So that answers the question about the significance of the number.

Mike