ThaiDave Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Oliver860 Take a look at: Numismatic Forgery by Charles Larson : https://www.amazon.com/Numismatic-Forgery-Charles-M-Larson/dp/0974237124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476730037&sr=8-1&keywords=numismatic+forgery However, detailed inspection compared with a known good piece is pretty good at detecting copies for officially struck medals such as most of these. A modern forger usually doesn't have full mint-quality dies and machines to duplicate this quality, However Chinese forging factories seem to be doing well on this. More difficult to detect are medals not made by a mint, of which many varieties exist, and orders. Ernst Blass is infamous for his forging efforts. And some areas are totally overcome by fakes - German 3rd Reich everything, Vietnam-era patches, and probably others. All the Interallied victory medals and bars are faked by Mike Shank as described elsewhere, and are often passed as genuine. Many of the others are copied individually elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Anyone have thoughts on if this is a genuine official Siamese vic? It looks pretty legit to me. http://www.emedals.com/a-rare-wwi-thai-victory-medal-w2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiDave Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Hi davidck, This looks like a genuine one. But some others with this dealer don't: Laslo "repro" for collectors (read fake) described as genuine, but with an intermediate price : http://www.emedals.com/a-rare-first-war-thai-victory-medal-1917-1918 Other Rama V fake: http://www.emedals.com/a-thai-rama-v-royal-household-merit-medal-2nd-class-c-1900 Other major Canadian dealer items - This was sold as genuine, but was a Blass fake (Laslo Repro): http://www.medalsofwar.com/product/siam-wwi-victory-medal-type-1-official/ (went for $2500, but should be maybe $400 at most) Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilco Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Looks good to me. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter monahan Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 " I see there are many types and thus it is up to the Buyer to know what they are bidding on as the details between the types can be very small to tell. " What a cop-out, especially as there is no indication that it might be a copy or off-make and the starting price - $US 1,500 - would lead an unwary buyer to assume ti was an original. I'm glad to see it didn't sell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Hi guys...first post on the forum after lurking. absorbing and juggling time management. Firstly, thank you all for the wealth of knowledge contained within the forum and the time taken to post. I have only been collecting for a couple of (expensive) years and it is certainly a steep learning curve in all areas of interest. After picking up recently Rumanian and Portugese VMs from the USA I am now down to the elusive Brazil, Cuba and Siam ones to complete my collection (not including the Philippines). I believe all my other VMs I have collected thus far are "good" medals thanks a lot to the information provided in this forum. I am certainly not in a rush to find these last few as, of course, they tend to be the most expensive. Anyway, I did notice this Siam one coming up for auction in a few days time but it looks totally dodgy to me, based on limited experience but comparing with the photos displayed in this thread. I just thought I would post it to have my suspicions confirmed or otherwise and potentially warn others out there? https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/james-and-son-auctioneers/catalogue-id-srjam10079/lot-2dac230f-aaee-41a7-9dee-a6de00cee3c4?bidplaced= Even the auctioneer's photos are poor - why do they do this?? (rhetoric question ) Cheers. Edited January 14, 2017 by Percy Chapman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Percy, Terrible pics but, not an original example in my opinion. Take your time, it will pay off though the ones you have left are not going to be cheap. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the reply and advice Tim. Yes, those were the pics from the auctioneer! I totally understand the remaining few are going to cost a bundle if I pursue them. Regards, Percy Edited January 14, 2017 by Percy Chapman simplify Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobW Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Hello Percy, To echo Tim's response; definitely not an official piece. I would suggest you copy one of the close-up pics of the obverse/reverse of the official Siam vic from this sub-thread and use that as a guide when attempting to locate an official example. Short of requesting additional pics from the vendor, you would be well placed to observe and confirm before parting with your money. The Brazil, Cuba and Siam pieces are becoming harder to obtain in good condition and prices never seem to go down. Have fun searching. Regards, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Hi Rob, Thanks for the comments and noted. I was pretty certain it not an official one and posted to confirm as well as alert and prospective bidders. When bidding for medals at online auctions I have always requested additional images from the auctioneer and tend to stick with reputable auctions houses such as DNW in the UK for example. Yes the elusive three are on my radar but not rushing into it. Cheers, Percy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 On 11/10/2016 at 11:10, davidck said: Anyone have thoughts on if this is a genuine official Siamese vic? It looks pretty legit to me. http://www.emedals.com/a-rare-wwi-thai-victory-medal-w2010 I was taking a closer look at this one, and decided that it doesn't look official to me. It looks more like the repro type 3 in the Michels book because of the thicker fingers and size of the earring. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilco Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 David - the fingers look fine to me ... This is my main 'tell'. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macchianera72 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 For me is the same... look fine... Claudio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiDave Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hi davidck This one looks ok. The other two that they have listed as genuine however are not... listed as " official type, extensively cleaned " but actually is Laslo Repro Type 1 https://www.emedals.com/a-rare-first-war-thai-victory-medal-1917-1918 listed as" official type " but actually is Laslo Repro Type 2 (aka Blass copy) https://www.emedals.com/a-rare-first-war-thailand-victory-medal-w2226 Rgds Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 What about the folds on the pants, which are more pronounced than in pictures of officials that I've seen? Also the earring, which looks bigger than pictures I've seen. I'm trying to be diligent, because I'm thinking of making this a tax return present to myself, and it's a lot of money to drop on a fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 5 hours ago, davidck said: What about the folds on the pants, which are more pronounced than in pictures of officials that I've seen? Also the earring, which looks bigger than pictures I've seen. I'm trying to be diligent, because I'm thinking of making this a tax return present to myself, and it's a lot of money to drop on a fake. Nevermind. On closer inspection and with help from older posts with good pictures in this thread, I satisfied myself that it is the real deal and not, as initially suspected, the type 3 repro. I took the leap (after convincing my incredulous wife that it wasn't such a terrible idea because it won't lose its value) and now have it on layaway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Well done David. I regularly use the "investment" line when attempting to convince my wife...or myself for that matter on militaria purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I don't pitch it quite like that, because I don't plan to eventually sell it at a higher price. But it's an appreciating asset, in the sense that it is only like to go up in value with time, which means that it can always be sold if we fall on hard times. Buying collectibles doesn't actually decrease one's net worth. But like you said, that's probably what I say to convince myself as much as it is to convince her. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Agreed David...I really don't plan to sell many of the items I purchase as well unless to get a better quality example. I buy them because that is what I like or want. But it does indeed help to convince one's self. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidck Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 After paying it off over 6 months, it finally arrived. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambert Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Wow !!! Perfect ! Congratulations David .. great acquisition! ! Lambert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Chapman Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 A long wait David, but well worth it in the end. Looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobW Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Hello david, A nice example that you have waited patiently for. Sometimes the rarer examples are worth the wait. I would replace the current ribbon (as it is a latter US type) and replace it with some nice French made ribbon. That would make your example more correct to type. Regards, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macchianera72 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Congratulations David, love your medal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumserbrown Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 On 30/03/2013 at 15:45, ThaiDave said: Team, RE: Thai / Siam Interallied Victory Medal Study - Copies, Reproductions, and Fakes For about 6 years now I've been meaning to put together more information on Thai WW1 Interallied Victory Medal copies, and I've been closely following all sales I can find since then. I've several examples of this medal, both genuine and copy/fake, and about 150 photos of other examples (however, mostly low resolution as many come from the internet). Under close examination, normally it is not so difficult to distinguish between a genuine example and a copy when compared side by side. I've posted good quality pictures of genuine example and also some common copies on the medal forums, which should be sufficient to make this determination in most cases. Some time back I started, but didn't yet finish, a pictorial book of high resolution photos of different examples (see attached draft cover). I planned to make it a small private book via lulu.com (where I did my other draft Indochina medal books - in parallel to my web site www.indochinamedals.com). However, I wanted to get more example photos - especially different copies, and more information about when people have been finding these copies. Therefore, this is a request for anyone who has an example of a Thai WW1 Interallied Victory Medal - genuine and also copies (other than the two museum copies), to send me a high resolution photo / scan in good sharpness. In exchange, I will send you a printed copy of the book which will include the other example hi-resolution pictures. Likewise, I'd been keen to know if anyone has more specific information of purchase of various copies - especially purchase dates. i.e. How early back has Shank been selling his copies ? How early back did Blass start selling his copies - (Laslo Repro #2). Does anyone know the source of other copies ? How many have these copiers made ? Or any other information about other copies. Likewise, if anyone has any other references for this medal, in other published sources, this would be useful - including other books which might have a small section on it. Perhaps also any old manufacturer catalogs, if there are really any other manufacturers other than the first run (i.e. the Delande remake - which is not actually documented anywhere that is public so far, or any potential others) ? For anyone interested, send me a PM or email. Rgds, Dave ____________________________ Background: There is a known genuine issue of this medal estimated about 1500 pieces. There are two reported “contemporary reproductions” of undocumented age (however one of these is reportedly manufactured by Ernst Blass). There are many known different copies of unknown age. There are at least four known current active production copies, two of which are regularly confused with the genuine type. The known in-depth published information about this medal is in only one publication (Alexander Laslo – The Interallied Victory Medals of WW1). There are no known other published detailed articles, however there are probably many briefer descriptions available in other books. Because of the few number of genuine pieces, and high foreign interest coupled with low local interest, most of them are probably now outside their original country Thailand. Even so, Thai dealers/collectors are secretive with knowledge about medals and foreign made copies of this medal are both manufactured locally and imported to sell locally to unsuspecting foreigners. There are at least one or two known copy examples currently made in Thailand. Even without this specific knowledge, there is a large cottage medal making and medal copying industry in Thailand (mainly Buddhist amulets and Rama V medals), and it would not be difficult for a dedicated and/or resourceful person to make these medals. Some of the Thai copies of other medals are so well made that major dealers and auction houses cannot distinguish they are copies. In the field of coins, very high quality organized copying of valuable machine-struck coins that are difficult to detect for even experts has been rampant for decades - although this has occurred in several places around the world, in modern times in China this is government supported, well funded, and an organized effort. (Here is a little on medal counterfeiting here: http://www.omsa.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=646 ) Current prices for known copies advertised as copies are around $30-50. Current prices for genuine pieces are between $1500 and $3000 depending on various factors. Laslo Reproductions 1 & 2 can regularly be found at $200-500 depending on various factors. Dubious pieces can routinely achieve now up to $600 (previously sometimes up to $800 and more). Dishonest sellers will often claim ignorance or portray obscure potential sources, probably to realize a higher price. Although most sellers are honest, some sellers often know the medals are copies when they sell them, some sellers don't care about authenticity, and some sellers just don't know. Current copies are often poor enough that an experienced collector can detect them with a sufficient amount of examination, however some copies are good enough that experienced collectors have difficulty to detect them without detailed comparison with a genuine specimen. My feeling is that the technology is simply available (or will be soon enough) to manufacture very excellent copies for a dedicated person that would be difficult to detect for any but an expert. Further, that there will be perhaps no experts available with the skill to detect these copies. Also, those that should be experts (major dealers & auction houses) do not always have the interest to make very difficult or thorough investigation on this. I also believe that at this time, there possibly exists a pool of knowledgeable collectors who have scattered specimens, scattered information, and scattered personal history available - which can be collected together to obtain a more complete picture. Much of this information however may ultimately be lost as the personal files get destroyed and as these specimens get transferred to the next generation where they will be spread amongst a larger and looser collecting community which will not be able to compare them together as might have been previously possible. Hi Dave, I am back on the forum again after some time and finally re-found my Siam victory medal, which I had in carelessly misplaced! Here is a photo; I am hoping it is genuine.... Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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