Medal boxes

[Simon R]

Heart stopping moment - prise open tobacco tin to find BW and Victory medal box, typescript name, rank serial number on front etc, open lid..... no medals! ******!

Sold separately so I understand - someones missed a trick there I think, or have they?

Are medal boxes rare? I suppose they're the first thing to go, being organic and essentially throw away. If boxed, would BW + V shoot up in value? I assume so, but what would we be looking at?

[DirtyDick]

I have not noticed any considerable increment in the prices of a typical WW1 group purely because they are in issue boxes (i.e. different from personal ephemera, photos etc. which do affect the price).

It might add a very few quid to the price, if only to differentiate this group from others on dealers' lists, but not much else. I have had several groups complete with envelope, box, issue slip and protective packages, and have noted little difference in price due to this when I bought or sold them. (Perhaps an extra £5-10 or so?)

This is probably due to the fact that the medals are named ... only with unnamed British WW2 awards does the presence of the box and award certificate appear to make any difference for it adds provenance to the group and (limited) ID-ing of the recipient from the postal address.

Richard

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

I agree with Dick on this one,the prescence of a Box of Issue,is an added interest,but shouldn't add a great difference to the "Value" of the Medals in a purely intrinsic way,They might contribute to the asking price or top Bid in auction,but other details are as likely to have a Bearing on the Price,as the prescence or not of a Box,As to rarity I am surprised @ the number of WW1 Issue Boxes That continue to Appear,on Auction Sites like E Bay,Speedbid,Etc;Many more seem to have survived than You would have initially thought,One of the Reasons that Unworn Medals in Boxes used to be eagerly sought,was that prior to Immediate Online Access to Casualty Records,That we enjoy today,A Few Years Ago,A Boxed Lot was a Reasonable indication that the Recipient Might have been a Casualty,Either Fatal Or Seriously Wounded,& never got to wear their Medals,Admittedly Not Always the Case as some Tommies just Placed them @ the Back of the Drawer & Forgot about them as Best They Could,to be later found by the House Clearance Man,But It was sometimes worth the Trouble{It Meant Letters to CWGC Then! SAEs & Everything!There was no SDGW even in Readily Available Book Form~It was A British Library Job,unless your Local Library had the Local Regiment Edition,which they usually didn't}}

[Simon R]

The box was but a small part of a much larger collection of ephemera relating to one individual, I'll post details of it all when I've catalogued it.

Just for your viewing pleasure, the collection comprised the personal effects of Sydney Albert France, eventual sergeant in 33rd Rail Operating Coy. Pay-book, demob. papers, numerous photographs, postcards (mainly Salonika, many trains), Kodak camera, wallet, shaving mirror....

Details to be posted in relevant topic area soon.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty flakey on anything to do with medals really.

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

The box was but a small part of a much larger collection of ephemera relating to one individual, I'll post details of it all when I've catalogued it.

Just for your viewing pleasure, the collection comprised the personal effects of Sydney Albert France, eventual sergeant in 33rd Rail Operating Coy. Pay-book, demob. papers, numerous photographs, postcards (mainly Salonika, many trains), Kodak camera, wallet, shaving mirror....

Details to be posted in relevant topic area soon.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty flakey on anything to do with medals really.

Now that little lot would make a difference!!!!

[Simon R]

I couldn't walk away from it, it was going for a song and you know it'd just be broken up and eventually lose all provenance. It would certainly be a neat package though, medals plus ephemera. And so begins yet another quest utterly tangential (tangenital?) to my main body of work, the finding of a pair of medals sold separately to different people.

Ah well, the photos etc are the meat of the matter really and at least I've got those.