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July 2003 Medal NewsletterMedal Auctions at Spink We are pleased that this month our Consultant John Hayward (020 7563 4049) has again been able to produce one of his very popular numismatic articles. This month he deals with a very topical issue - copy 1914 and 1914-15 Stars. In a Spink Medal Website Newsletter later in the year John will also be writing about copy British War and Victory Medals. Although material has been published elsewhere on the matter of copy Great War Medals, John's articles provide a more considered and deeper insight into this issue. November Auctions at Spink
Our representative in Australasia is Mike Downey who can be contacted
at:
British Battles and Medals An Editorial Team (Richard Bishop, John Hayward and Diana Birch) is currently working on a new edition of British Battles and Medals. The improvements made to each successive edition of this key reference work have relied heavily on the knowledge of many specialist collectors. To ensure that the forthcoming edition is the most accurate and useful of all, again the Editors will be dependent to a large extent upon the cooperation and help of collectors. The Editorial Team is seeking information on the following: Any other suggestions will also be considered. Please include the provenance of any information you send as it is important that the new edition acknowledges all necessary references (in the case of books and journals, give the title, name of author, publisher, place and date of publication) The Editorial Team looks forward to hearing from collectors. The names of those who assist in the preparation of this new edition will be acknowledged in the book itself. All information to:
Numismatic Notes The large number of well-struck 1914 and 1914-15 copy stars that have appeared on the medal scene within the past six months has prompted much useful comment and discussion from both sides of the Atlantic. The issue is one that has bitten deeply into the medal collecting community on account of the large number of collectors who specialise in material from the Great War. Some information has already been published in an attempt to identify the copies from originals. It would, of course, vastly simplify matters if the correct authority enforced their legal right to protect Crown Copyright interests, if not for Great War medals, then for many of our more recent awards including the Queen¹s Gallantry Medal and the Queen¹s Golden Jubilee Medal. Perhaps the manufacturers of these particular stars, who also offer British War and Victory Medals, would care to assume a measure of responsibility for their reproductions by marking each piece with the word copy. Apart from stating the metal content of both stars to be tombac bronze (92% copper and 8% zinc), no further numismatic analysis involving metallic testing has taken place. A privileged examination of Royal Mint records from the time of the original production of the stars reveals certain difficulties which now occur in identifying unnamed modern copies that have been produced directly from originals. It becomes apparent that some copies that have been struck, and which have also been named in an attempt to pass them off as 'originals' by the unscrupulous, have as much or more definition than could possibly have been achieved by some of those contracted to produce the original issue. Care has often been taken to remove the usual kinds of imperfection left behind in the course of mass production, such as 'clearing' the edges of slightly burred metal kicked up during the striking process. One can only assume the reason for providing a superb unnamed copy in the first place. Even the process of trying to illustrate the situation with the usual comparative images of 'genuine'and 'copy' is rendered useless on account of these complications. Taking firstly the 1914 Star, two different copies have been produced recently, both good strikings with flat backs, one with a superior finish, but lighter in colour and weight than the other. Jack Webb (OMRS 530) kindly checked his 1914 collection of 'Indian' stars and found that all 52 of his other ranks' awards had 'flat backs'; four British officers serving with Indian regiments had 'flat backs' while two were rounded, and three British other ranks serving with Indian regiments had 'flats', while one was round. An official 1914 War Office specimen (numbered 68/Gen/6731) was also a flat back.These observations would appear to tally with the comments made by W.G. Hocking, CVO, CBE, the Assistant Superintendent of the Operative Department at the Royal Mint back in 1917; Hocking minuted on 23 November 1917: 'The ring is flat at the back; if preferred it could be struck round. This, however, would require a reverse die and would add considerably to the difficulties of manufacture.' However, no immediate decision on this was taken. In February 1918, as production of the stars commenced, the War Office began submitting to the Mint specimens from the eight contractors engaged to manufacture them. The Mint officials, chiefly Hocking and his immediate superior, Sir Edward Rigg, CB, CVO, ISO, were required to report back to the War Office upon whether the stars were of a standard 'as regards manufacture and finish' as would satisfy the official specifications that had been laid down for the 1914 Star and which had been approved by the King. The first contractor¹s specimen Hocking saw had been struck, he noted, 'from a die imperfectly cleaned, specks of 'dirt' being embedded in the surface of the decoration'. Although its weight was close to the standard required, 'the finish of the decoration lacks smoothness, the surface being heavily pitted. The flat back should be clean and free from scratches to receive the engraving. Too coarse a file has been used on the edges'. Over the following two or three weeks Hocking was confronted with specimens from the other contractors that were of variable quality, practically all of them with various imperfections of finish, and some nearer to the correct weight than others, but none of them spot on. He described an offering from a different firm on 15 February as 'a poorly finished specimen', upon which he elaborated by saying that 'specks of dirt have been struck into the metal and the surface, particularly in the centre, has been burnished unevenly. It should not be burnished within the wreath. The colour of the metal is too pale, possibly due to over-pickling. The piece weighs only 341 grains, and is therefore nearly 50 grains below standard'. Sir Edward Rigg was unhappy about one contractor who had produced a round back star, noting: 'As the Mint sample, approved by the King, was left flat, it seems that all cases should be similar'. Another contractor provided a specimen which though 'well struck and finished', was deficient in that the 'markings on the acorn-cups are not very distinct'. Yet another contractor submitted a specimen that was not only 'thicker' than it ought to have been, but of which the back had a 'slightly convex' appearance due to the fact that a hollow die instead of a flat one had been used to strike that side of the decoration.Another star was 'too thin' and another was 'dull and rough, owing to over-pickling in strong acid'. In the meantime there were inevitable complaints in the Press that the production of the stars had been contracted out to makers with little if any inexperience in the manufacture of medals, and that as a result of the ensuing problems and delays the men were kept waiting for their hard-earned decorations. Contractors guilty of sub-standard workmanship were required to submit second, and even third sets of specimens for Hocking¹s scrutiny, and these later inspections continued to reveal blemishes and imperfections in the strikings. In his subsequent inspections Hocking complained, too, about the 'roughness' of the edges and the presence of 'coarse file marks', and was concerned that clipping tools of inadequate accuracy were being used. In one case the width of the sword handles had been reduced as a result of cleaning and polishing, in another 'the details of the wreath are not visible and have probably been polished out', and in a further example there were defects in the swords points. Worst of all, it was clear that some contractors who had been upbraided for producing stars with round-back rings, had neglected to rectify this particular failing. In April 1918 on a further submission of twelve stars from the contractors, all of them, on Hocking¹s inspection, proved to be of 'rejection' standard and unacceptable to the Mint. On 25 April he was required to comment on samples from a 'large batch' which had been proposed to reject: 'the three stars are only of average workmanship, the surfaces showing many dents and scratches. They lack brightness in the finish and certainly require re-polishing'. In June, Hocking commented on a further ten specimens, and found that in all cases the points of the stars were 'weak and have the appearance of curving backwards'; most had 'flaws in the metal at the base of the ring'; that surfaces bore evidence of the use of unclean dies; and that there were 'marks of discolouration which may be due to careless handling'. He concluded that 'none of the samples seem to be equal to the standard pattern'. Sir Edward Rigg¹s conclusion was that 'we can hardly advise their rejection as they [the War Office] may ... be rejecting the lot and saying it is on the advice of the Mint. They are certainly not good but I cannot help feeling that if none are issued worse, there will be little cause for complaint'. On the basis of these unsatisfactory internal conclusions, the Mint¹s officials were forced to concede to the War Office that 'it cannot be said that any of the samples appear to be equal to standard pattern, but at the same time the defects generally are hardly of such a character as to justify this Department in advising rejection'. The 1914 Star was thus made to suffer limitations imposed by the pressures of mass production. The eight British contractors produced some 360,000 decorations for British issue, one of them, Wright & Son, alone producing half that quantity. During the months of production it had become clear to all parties concerned that it was never going to be possible to mass produce a decoration that would conform to the Mint¹s customary standards, and that the stars would be full of minor variation and blemish. The problems already encountered in regulation of quality became magnified on a far vaster scale with the manufacture of the 1914-15 Star. The work was placed out to 16 contractors, only four of whom had been involved in producing the 1914 Star. The sampling and inspection of specimens exposed the by now familiar difficulties of obtaining a satisfactory 'finish', Mr Hocking at the Mint noting that 'it would probably improve the appearance of the decoration as a whole if it were not so highly burnished. The excessive polishing also tends to remove the outlines of the leaves and acorns in the wreath'. Two different copies of the 1914-15 Star have been noted. Although they exhibit many of the defects of the originals, they can be identified by the two triangular panels within the wreath of oakleaves at 12 o¹clock and 6 o¹clock, above and below the '1914-15' cartouche, which are distinctly convex in appearance. By March 1920, 56 dies for the 1914-15 Star were supplied to the 16 contractors and the number supplied to each ranged from as many as 13 to one firm, to as few as one to one other. Collectively, the firms finished 1,789,372 stars. It was not until very early in 1923 that a new tool was introduced which considerably reduced hand finishing, but it resulted in a flat-backed ring. This may explain Richard Flory¹s observation concerning the issue of some flat-backed 1914-15 Stars after the beginning of 1923 to Royal Artillery officers which he has in his collection ('Naming and Suspension Rings on British 1914-15 Stars - A Preliminary Analysis', OMSA, June 2003). Jack Webb observed that on inspecting a quantity of 1914-15 Stars to British units he found about half the number had rounded rings in varying degrees and the other half had flat-backs. It would seem from a wider study of the 1914 and 1914-15 stars that a number of contractors finished them entirely to their own satisfaction, and this makes the copies difficult to pronounce upon in view of the many defects, peculiarities of striking and finishing, differing weights, measurements and colours present in original strikings. To complicate matters further, well-intentioned collectors have also spread the gospel regarding their own observations, for example, the colour of the copies. At what stage in the life of the 'new strikings' were these observations made? Just after they had left the wholesaler, or some weeks later when the metal takes on a more naturally acceptable colour? Or, was it one of the better quality, more expensive copies, artificially toned to a better colour and with new 'striking' evidence polished out, and possibly named? Numismatic and metallic investigation must be the way forward to combat the latest intrusion to collector confidence, and perhaps that chemistry outfit in the loft will come in handy after all.
Price: £50.00 (includes UK postage: p&p to Europe £4, elsewhere £10) Payment by Sterling Cheque or international money order only. The book traces the history of the Order beginning with its institution
in 1917. Limited to just 65 Members, its ranks have included writers,
poets, artists, architects, sculptors, composers, conductors, actors,
journalists, broadcasters, industrialists, trades unionists, clergy, social
pioneers,
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