Gary Jucha Posted 3 April , 2009 Share Posted 3 April , 2009 I have heard people say that the British War Medal was made of silver. .. There are no Hallmarks to these medals, therefore the "silver" content must be below the silver accepted standard level. Does anybody know the true percentage used in it's manufacture ? Regards Gary J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmor58 Posted 3 April , 2009 Share Posted 3 April , 2009 As far as I am aware the medal is made of silver.For some reason unknown to me there is or was no legal requirement to hallmark medals. maybe some one will be able to clarify this. Jasmor58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 3 April , 2009 Share Posted 3 April , 2009 silver need not be hall marked its just not called silver but white metal. But in this case if the medal was made by the Royal mint it would not require a hallmark any way, just like silver coins of the period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 3 April , 2009 Share Posted 3 April , 2009 The medals were of Stirling Silver which is a specific fineness of silver. It was one of the principle reasons for the loss of so many medals, because the melt down value was greater than the value placed on the medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
303man Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 In the Late 70's early 80's Silver was running at a very High Price A BWM Victoty Pair was selling for £10 ish And with no facility to check for a casaulty then (Less trawling Soldiers died on Fiche) you could get more money selling the BWM as scrap they are almost 1 oz of Silver. I remember visiting a Liverpool dealer and there were Plastic Buckets of Victory Medals the associated BWM's beng smelted. at the same time I was buying Memorial Plaques @ £2:50 each 20 at a time which were heaped up next to the buckets. The reason for only 20 plaques a time was I was traveling home by train and that was more than enough to carry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Jucha Posted 4 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Cheers chaps for the replies ... Interesting to note that the silver content was up to the sterling standard .. Also, being officially minted (like pre 47 "silver" coins), a hallmark was not required. .. Taking this subject to one side, .. considering the amount of BWM's minted, that must equate to a fair amount of silver being used directly after the financial cost of the war ! The Government must have had to dig deep to cover the raw cost and the manufacturing cost to produce this medal alone ! Gary J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodge Dowson Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Just one ounce of silver exactly I am told Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 I think they are pretty much the same size as a silver crown - 5 shilling coin. The head of the King is the same as that used on the coinage and I would imagine they were minted in the Royal Mint. I think they are .925 pure silver? As has been said, hall-marking was not necessary for coinage and by extension silver medals. Our silver coinage was .925 up to and including 1919 coins. In 1920 the silver coinage was debased to 0.500 and surprisingly remained at this level right through WW2 until 1946. Sterling silver coins were called in by the Mint from 1920 onwards and it would seem likely that the silver recovered was used to mint many BWMs. As a teenager in the 1960's/70s, I collected coins and cultivated a number of football pools agents and sorted through their takings. I gave them double face value for anything I wanted and found some very nice items in that way. Worn silver got recycled through dodgy scrap metal dealers - the practice of melting down coins of the realm being illegal. Bigs bags of silver coins in the banks were also scoured. I understand that the recent high price of copper/bronze has led to the melting down of early copper decimal coins. These coins are now plated steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Jucha Posted 4 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Ian, Obviously the 1920 "debase" was done to draw some extra funds in for the Government/Treasury, .. but at the same time, might it have been "helped" through by the requirement of the silver for the BWM's ? Regards Gary J. Our silver coinage was .925 up to and including 1919 coins. In 1920 the silver coinage was debased to 0.500 and surprisingly remained at this level right through WW2 until 1946. Sterling silver coins were called in by the Mint from 1920 onwards and it would seem likely that the silver recovered was used to mint many BWMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Im sure I read here on the forum that the silver content of the suspender bars was different from the medal part hence the practice by jewelers/medal dealers of snapping off the suspenders prior to melting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGM Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Hello all, I'm just wondering about my grandad's SWB now. It doesn't have the king's head (as in ianw's post) and I'm not sure what a suspender bar is (welshdoc's post) but I would describe mine as having a vertical pin, as a brooch would have. Were they different for members of The A.I.F? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 I'm surprised that the pre 1920 coinage was recalled by the mint as it was still turning up in circulation until decimalisation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Hi CMG a SWB (silver war badge) is just that a badge with a pin not a medal. It was worn without a ribbon and was awarded during the war to those disabled or being discharged from the forces with illness. it is unnamed but has a number impressed on the back. It was the same for all counries just the numbering differs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGM Posted 4 April , 2009 Share Posted 4 April , 2009 Yes, that does sound like mine - except it doesn't have the kings head. I imagine the pin would have been too weak if made from very pure silver? Edit: Ah, I think I missed a change from discussing the SWB to the BWMs. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 5 April , 2009 Share Posted 5 April , 2009 I think the thread started on the BWM and then went on to the SWB ! PAPMPT - Yes, I was still finding silver from William IV's and Victorias reign in the 70s but I think the explanation may have been the large number of coins that are continually coming back into circulation from down sofas, floorboards etc. They were the same size as the current coinage so of course could be easily spent. I recall finding a near mint state 1901 Victorian coin in my change and can only surmise that it was a souvenir of the Old Queen that Granny had kept. I was once given a half-sovereign as a decimal penny, by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGM Posted 5 April , 2009 Share Posted 5 April , 2009 I think the thread started on the BWM and then went on to the SWB ! You are so right. I'm afraid I was obviously when I read the thread yesterday. Apologies for wasting your time. CGM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Jucha Posted 6 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 6 April , 2009 CGM, ... No actually your answer does ask the question if the "Loyal Service" badge was also made of silver ? (This would clear up another question at the same time !) Cheers Gary J. You are so right. I'm afraid I was obviously when I read the thread yesterday. Apologies for wasting your time. CGM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 6 April , 2009 Share Posted 6 April , 2009 I was once given a half-sovereign as a decimal penny, by the way! That was a good deal! You have all the luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 6 April , 2009 Share Posted 6 April , 2009 I'm just wondering about my grandad's SWB now. Here are useful details about the SWB. http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/swb.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 6 April , 2009 Share Posted 6 April , 2009 I'm just wondering about my grandad's SWB now.. Were they different for members of The A.I.F? The SWB was the same pattern for all Empire Troops who received it,Australian ["A"];Canadian ["C"] & New Zealand ["NZ"] Recipients had a Letter prefix,as did Merchant Navy ["M"] & Royal Navy ["RN"] Badges,{as well as UK Army Badges which had "B" Prefix on later issues.} SWB too were Sterling Silver [ie:.925] but the pin was Nickel or Brass,& being made by various Badge Makers including Gaunt {if you are lucky enough to find a Boxed one}they were not hallmarked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGM Posted 6 April , 2009 Share Posted 6 April , 2009 Thank you very much per ardua. Yes, that's the badge I have. There are far more reasons for receiving the badge than I realised! As it's called the Silver War Badge does that mean it is definitely silver? CGM Edit - my question was answered as I typed. Also - the number of mine begins with an A. Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now