British medals (KIA)

[Khaki]

I approached the subject with caution, because it is something I have never been able to "get my head around', maybe a medal collector can explain it to me, Why for example is a (KIA) trio or pair of British Great War medals usually worth more that those that were received by a serviceman who survived the war. I would have thought that medals that were actually received and worn would have more interest to them (collector wise). or at least have equal value.

khaki

[Waggoner]

khaki,

Let me start this off. Many medal collectors are first and foremost interested in the story of the man (or woman) behind the medals. For this reason, casualty groups are seen to be more interesting. Within this category, the time and place when the casualty occurred also makes a difference. For example, a group of medals to a man who died on the First Day of the Somme is more highly valued than a group to a man who died as the result of "normal attrition". Like you, I have great difficulty in understanding why this is, but it is. I collect medals to the A.S.C. by prefix - strange, eh? So, for me, it doesn't really matter if the man was a casualty or not - it is the prefix that dictates the price that I will pay. That is one of the nice things about collecting, everyone has their own interests and reasons for collecting. I hope that this will be of some help to you.

All the best,

Gary

[submarine]

Hi Khaki

Medals to a Casualty usually fetch a high price simpley because the research potential is far greater ,if you use Soldiers Died this will

tell you where he was born , live and enlisted it will also have the date of his Death which in turn places the Battle or action he Died in ,

the the Commonwealth War Graves will add more detail . For a non casualty the information is either not available or so much harder to

find.

Best wishes

Colin

[Khaki]

Thanks Gary and Colin,

It's a lot clearer now, I have always understood, collecting Great War medals for regimental reasons and for nationalities, eg Irish, Scottish, commonwealth, but I hadn't thought of ease of research.

Thanks again

khaki

[PhilB]

There is also a good chance of finding his obituary in a local paper, possibly with photograph and personal details. The date of death and unit tie him to a place. It is rarely possible to do this with a non-casualty.

[allen.h]

YOUR POST SHOULD BRING VERY MANY VARIED AND INTERESTING REPLIES.AS ALREADY STATED REGTS,DATES OF ACTIONS,TYPE OF RESEARCH INVOLVED,

THE LIST OF VARIATIONS ENDLESS.THE COST INVOLVED ALSO MUST BE CONSIDERED IF OBTAINING MEDALS AND DOCUMENTS.

A MOST FASCINATING SUBJECT FOR ANY ENTHUSIAST

IF YOU CAN OBTAIN A COPY OF MEDAL NEWS PUBLISHED BY TOKEN LTD ( IO TIMES A YEAR ) YOU WILL SEE AN INSIGHT INTO THE MEDAL SCENE.

REGARDS ALLEN.

[pylon1357]

Great question you pose. I have been collecting medals for just over 30 years.... I still have no idea why a casualty group is worth more. I collect what interests me. Rarely ( unless connected to the Irish Regiment of Canada lineage) will I ever chase and pay a premium for a casualty group.