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August 2005 Medal NewsletterAUCTION NEWSStrong prices were the order of the day at our 21 July auction of orders, decorations and medals. Fine quality campaign medals from the Napoleonic wars period have been particularly in demand in the buoyant market of recent years, and usually attract sustained bidding. Our latest sale was particularly strong in such pieces; many awarded to interesting recipients, and thus made some progressive prices.
Examples from a small collection of Naval General Service Medals 1793-1840 illustrate the point with a three-clasp award, 'Trafalgar', 'Basque Roads' and 'Java', to Thomas Durnell, HM Ships Temeraire and Illustrious, selling at £11,000 (estimate £5,500-6,500); and a single clasp medal , '14 March 1795', to Lieutenant Richard Matson RN, HMS Bedford, making £7,000 (estimate £3,500-4,000). From this same period two fine Military General Service Medal 1793-1814 pairs, both in combination with Waterloo Medals 1815, were well contested: one, an 8-clasp award to Lieutenant Colonel the Right Honourable Lord Charles Fitzroy MP, Grenadier Guards and Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, late Vice Chamberlain to the Household made a very strong £16,000 (estimate £5,500-6,500), and a 4-clasp Military General Service Medal 1793-1814 to Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Clerke Bt, 52 Foot did well and reached £6,200 (estimate £4,000-4,500). Another Waterloo Medal offered with some excellent research was that to Lieutenant George Gunning, 1st Dragoons, a regiment that formed part of the Union Brigade at Waterloo where it was at the centre of the famous charge that helped save the Allied centre during the early stages of the battle. Gunning led a troop in the charge and, though wounded, still played a part in the capture of the Eagle of the French 105th Regiment Gunning left his lengthy own account of this incident. Bidding on this single medal finally closed at £14,000 (estimate £6,000-8,000). A collection of Indian Mutiny Medals 1857-58, almost 200 lots strong, with a variety of clasp-combinations and to recipients who served with a cross section of British and Indian regiments and units, included several pairs to more high profile individuals. One worthy of special mention was that to Major S.G.C. Renaud, 1 Madras Fusiliers, Commander of the Relief Column for Cawnpore, whom it is well recorded instigated reprisals ' indiscriminate to the last degree' against both mutineers and others. Though mortally wounded, he led his men in the charge of his regiment at Aong on the journey to Cawnpore; his Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-58 and India General Service Medal 1854-95 were secured by a bid of £3,600 (estimate £2,000-2,500). A historically interesting group of orders and medals with a silver Royal Humane Society Medal (successful) came with considerable research and was sold with many interesting photographs and documents as well as the recipient's sword. These awards were those of Lieutenant Colonel Randle Montague Feilden, 52 Oxfordshire Light Infantry and Egyptian Army. He had served in the Mohmand and Tirah expeditions 1897-98, in South Africa 1901-02, in the Sudan against the Nyam Nyams 1904-05 and against Agadir 1913. The successful purchaser of this group had to pay £4,600 to acquire this interesting slice of military history (estimate £2,000-3,000). The gallantry section contained a selection of items awarded to recipients from all services and for many campaigns. The most illustrious group was, of course, the Victoria Cross group of 7 to Sergeant A. Richards, 1 Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, awarded for his gallantry during the Gallipoli landings, 1915, when the Lancashire Fusiliers were charged with seizing a small sandy cove, extremely well-defended by the Turks. This led to massive casualties with only 16 officers and 304 men from the Battalion surviving the day from the 27 officers and 1,002 that set out. Sergeant Richards survived the ordeal and was selected by his comrades to receive the Victoria Cross for his gallantry. Richards' VC group brought £110,000, a good price even though slightly under estimate (estimate £130,000-150,000). The fine Distinguished Service Order group of 7 to Lieutenant Thomas Douglas Laverick Platt, Royal Naval Reserve who, commanding HM Motor Launch 447, participated in a daring attack on the German naval base at St Nazaire, where he displayed great gallantry in the face of steady fire at point blank range, almost doubled its highest estimate, selling at £5,500 (estimate £2,000-3,000).
Foreign awards always attract a loyal specialist audience. Two especially
fine items of the highest rarity were on offer in this sale: a Collar
and Badge of the French Order of the Holy Spirit in gold and enamel was
lengthily contested up to a selling price of £37,000 (estimate £20,000-25,000),
and a Collar of the Russian Order of St. Andrew, also in gold and enamel,
which was successfully secured for £26,000 (estimate £24,000-28,000).
The strong interest in Russian orders continued into the following lots;
especially notable results were achieved by an Order of St Anne, 1st Class
'Special Award' sash Badge in gold and enamel with diamonds which made
£18,000 (estimate £4,000-6,000) and a 2nd Class neck Badge
with Crown in gold and enamel, maker Kammerer and Keibel, St Petersburg,
of pre 1865 vintage, which brought £10,500 (estimate £3,000-4,000).
Next month, we will have details of some of the items already consigned for our 24 November auction. For further information, contact Richard Bishop on 020 7563 4053, Mark Quayle on 020 7563 4064 or John Hayward on 020 7563 4049.
Spink Host London Branch Meetings of the Orders and Medals Research SocietySpink will continue to host meetings of the new London Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 13 September. It will include a presentation by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and as usual there will be the opportunity to talk about and handle medals in a relaxed environment. All members of the OMRS are welcome to join. It is important to arrive between 5.30-6.00pm as it will be impossible to gain access to the building once the premises are locked at the close of business.Enquiries about the Branch and its activities should be addressed to: Bob Barltrop (01582 715472) or Stan Bates (01226 790723/email stanbates@aol.com).
New Reference Work for Medal CollectorsThe Spink Book Department will be pleased to assist you with any enquiries about their stock of books on orders, medals and decorations, a selection of which is available online. if you prefer to contact them directly with your enquiry, you can do so on +44 (0)20 7563 4056, or by email.Below are details of a recently privately published work of reference that will interest collectors: The County of Warwickshire Roll of Honour 1914-2005: Vol I South
Warwickshire This new work lists every village and town war memorial, roll of honour and military burial in South Warwickshire 1914-2005. Over 9,200 individuals have been researched and recorded by location. Each entry includes full name, service number, rank, ship/battalion and regiment/ squadron with brigade and division where appropriate, names of parents/spouse, places of birth and residence, enlistment information, cause of death, place of burial/commemoration; full medal entitlement for Great War casualties. Additional information from the 1901 census, parish records, Warwickshire
burial index, local newspapers, county record office, national archives,
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, war diaries, service papers, medal
index cards and the London Gazette is included.
Prices RealisedClick here to view the prices realised for the 21 July auction.
CataloguesTo take out an annual subscription for our auction catalogues, or to purchase catalogues individually, please contact Client Services on 020 7563 4089, or email catalogues@spink.com. A breakdown of charges is provided here.Buying Medals on the Spink WebsiteFor those who have expressed an interest in receiving updates by email from Spink, we can contact you when new items are added to our online stocklists, usually every two to three weeks. If you are unsure whether we hold an email address for you, please email your details to enquiry@spink.com, stating that you wish to receive medal stock updates from Spink.Please note that items cannot be reserved and will remain on the site available for purchase until a firm sale has been completed. Auction ServiceFor those who prefer to engage an agent to bid on their behalf at the major auctions in London of Orders, Decorations and Medals, Spink now offer this as a free service. A representative from the Medal Department attends all major auctions and will be pleased to act on your behalf. The procedure for retaining Spink in this capacity is very straightforward, just contact John Hayward on 020 7563 4049Selling Medals at SpinkAlthough sale at auction of orders, medals and decorations is very successful, some clients still lean towards sale by private treaty. We at Spink are most interested in the straight purchase of both collections and individual items and will be pleased to discuss such arrangements.
•Click here to browse a selection of medals online
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