The value of WW2 medals

Discussion in 'For Sale & For Trade' started by ritsonvaljos, Aug 14, 2011.

  1. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    A company advertising in the Sunday newspaper I usually read says they will buy old miltary medals.

    What is the value for a WW2 medal?

    Answer: £5 each

    (One might be thankful they will take these 'trinkets' off your hands for that price!).

    If one has Granddad's WW1 medals in a drawer somewhere, they will give you the grand sum of £10 each. So if Granddad happened to volunteer in 1914, went over with the BEF and managed to to get a full 3-set medal collection, one could get the fine sum of £30.

    More is offered for a DCM, DCF, DCM, MM etc. However, I will not give their monetary 'value' here.

    Unfortunately my late father was in the Home Guard in WW2 (and in a reserved occupation - mining). He never received any medals ... so no £5 legacy coming this way.

    So for any surviving veterans who wish to get a cash bounty for their medals .... what would they spend the £5 / medal on?
     
  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Ritson

    So for any surviving veterans who wish to get a cash bounty for their medals .... what would they spend the £5 / medal on?

    Blimey !

    Here I am sitting on a £25 gold-mine !

    Divide it by five grand-children, this will give them all £5 apiece

    That will ensure they all remember me :p

    Ron
     

    Attached Files:

    James S likes this.
  3. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Surely the value also depends on the provenance and the person to whom they were awarded. Ron's medals must be worth more.

    Mike
     
  4. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    Just checked, the Special Constabulary Medal with bar of my late fathers is worth more than the seven war time medals he was awarded. I could not imagine any circumstance where I would sell them, gifted to the RAF museum maybe - personal choices I suppose.
     
  5. Jedburgh22

    Jedburgh22 Very Senior Member

    A medal has a very small value - like books buyers will offer small prices for them and then offer for sale elsewhere at a huge markup. Obviously if there is a gallantry award that can be researched the sum offered will increase a little. However the value of the medals is in the record of sacrifice, bravery and commitment to a cause they represent, and should be treasured by the families who inherit them.
     
  6. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Surely the value also depends on the provenance and the person to whom they were awarded. Ron's medals must be worth more.

    Mike

    If you are a collector of medals, then it's the man not the metal that is important. Ron's medals are priceless, non more so than to Ron himself.
     
  7. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Just checked, the Special Constabulary Medal with bar of my late fathers is worth more than the seven war time medals he was awarded. I could not imagine any circumstance where I would sell them, gifted to the RAF museum maybe - personal choices I suppose.

    Wills,

    WW2 medals were not named to the recipient when presented, this has always made provenance a difficult issue. His Police medal is named and so to a dealer is worth more. To a true collector the group would be a special prize.

    I agree totally with you about why any family would want to give such an important part of their history away? I only wish that my Grandfather's Burma Star group had survived in our family, but a burglar decided this would not be the case.
     
    James S likes this.
  8. Assam

    Assam Senior Member

    Well,

    At a fiver a pop, someone is doing real well & it is not the seller.

    As B43 states for a collector, it is the man behind the medal, so what IS important is the provenance. the more material to go with those medals the more the value for without anything to indentify whom they were awarded to they are just un named medals at a single value which does vary greatly

    You wont get a star for a tenner save the 1939-45 star on a dealers web site.

    Gallantry awards fall into a different catagory of DCM & MM as these awards are named & therefore the "group" has provenanve. Yet a decoration to an officer either MC or DSO is really just single medal value because nothing in the group will be named.

    South Africa & astralia are different as there campaign medals were named by the government.

    Current dealer values are pretty much the same & here is an extract from a dealer list in the UK:
    1939-45 STAR10.002.00[​IMG]AFRICA STAR12.002.00[​IMG]ITALY STAR12.002.00[​IMG]FRANCE & GERMANY STAR18.002.00[​IMG]BURMA STAR22.002.00[​IMG]ATLANTIC STAR

    1939-45 star GBP10
    Africa star = 12
    italy =12
    F&G star =18
    Burma = 22
    Atlantic = 28
    Pacific = 38
    Defense medal = 15
    WM = 8

    the 2nd value is postal charges.

    the Air Crew Europe I think in the region of 220-240 ( but it is the most faked as well)

    occasionally you can pick up bargains.

    I recently picked up a burma star trio to 2/6 the loyals attached recce, KIA at Kohima, whilst the group came with box of issue addressed to NOK, it did not contain condolence slip. That aside I paid GBP38 + postage which is cheap with some form of provenance, with full provinenance I would expect to pay in the region of GBP140-180+. at least he wont be forgotten as I will research him & keep him (the medals) in my gallery.


    Regards

    simon
     
    James S likes this.
  9. sapper

    sapper WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Here is a very interesting theme. That is; should we wear the medals, that the grateful nations of Holland and France have given the France and Germany Star medal holders? Or only the official awards? I have several medals that were sent to me, or were awarded at my home by a French dignitary.

    It is a bone of contention, even amongst the Veterans. It does seem daft to me that any man that landed on D day, and saw action all through the campaign has one medal. The same applies to our comrades in other fields of conflict; Italy for example.

    I can think of several battles that were so violent, that the participants ought to have been recognised by an official award.

    As can our Vets on this site I have no doubt!
    As it happens, its the France and Germany Star that covers all that bravery, death and destruction, and worth £5?
     
  10. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Just after the Iraq war in 2003 my Gulf medal and Bar (someone elses) was selling on Ebay for around £500. I believe my Balkans medals are worth tupence
     
    Owen D likes this.
  11. Assam

    Assam Senior Member

    Sapper,

    It is regrettable, that market forces determine the value. To a vet or his family (or a collector for that matter) they are, & rightly so priceless.

    Had the British Government made the determination against costs to have all named up, then it would have been a totally different situation (as far as what the collectors market values them at).

    I suppose that your argument regarding the length of service ( & rightly valid) to only receive 1 medal is very much in the same vain as your fathers & uncles who fought in WW1. Initially, there were going to be bars awarded to the BWM 1914-18, but it would have been possible for someone to have up to 30 odd of the proposed bars & that would have been a redicules situation, the gov't of the day kyboshed it & only bars to minitures exist (unoffically).

    The Americans had it even worse. Whilst in some circles it is a standing joke that the US awards medals willy nilly, in WW2 they had only 2 campaign medals, 1 for Europe -Africa -italy & 1 for the pacific S.E.A.

    For someone who fought from D day onwards in Europe, effectively they got 2 medals for that campaign, as you had to qualify for the 1939-45 star (180 days) initially before time counted for the F&G Star (not that that was any great consolation.

    all in all, WW2 vets were hard done by medalically (in how they were treated) & not since WW2 has a British campaign medal been awarded without "naming".

    Best Regards

    Simon
     
  12. Assam

    Assam Senior Member

    Wills,

    WW2 medals were not named to the recipient when presented, this has always made provenance a difficult issue. His Police medal is named and so to a dealer is worth more. To a true collector the group would be a special prize.

    I agree totally with you about why any family would want to give such an important part of their history away? I only wish that my Grandfather's Burma Star group had survived in our family, but a burglar decided this would not be the case.

    B43,

    Medals awarded by Australia, South Africa & Post partition India were named up to their troops at government expense.

    Regards

    Simon
     
  13. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    My father would often be on duty on armistice day as a special constable and therefore had 'medals in wear' I cannot remember him wearing them on any other occasion. As a pre war regular - he always described the war as a 'bloody nonsense' he would wear his beloved RAF tie, but I am sure his medals were not that important to him they spent a lot of time in a drawer. As do mine!
     
  14. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    B43,

    Medals awarded by Australia, South Africa & Post partition India were named up to their troops at government expense.

    Regards

    Simon

    Sorry Simon, quite correct. I was really talking about WW2 with my Grandad in mind and so sadly no naming. I guess the country was just about broke at the end of the war and could not justify the expense.
     
  15. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    My father would often be on duty on armistice day as a special constable and therefore had 'medals in wear' I cannot remember him wearing them on any other occasion. As a pre war regular - he always described the war as a 'bloody nonsense' he would wear his beloved RAF tie, but I am sure his medals were not that important to him they spent a lot of time in a drawer. As do mine!


    Wills,

    Most of the Burma veterans I have met did not apply for their medal entitlement for several years after the war had ended and some I know never did at all.

    In many cases they have told me that the whole thing was beyond comprehension and that they struggle to come to terms with what they saw to this day.
     
  16. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Wills

    You say:
    but I am sure his medals were not that important to him they spent a lot of time in a drawer. As do mine!
    Medals, by the very nature of their makeup, will always spend a lot of time in a drawer.

    As do mine, but I manage to give them an airing at least twice a year for the British Legion & the AJEX commemoration parades.

    When the Epiphany film crew were recently at my house, they got a further airing, as you can see from the pic below.

    Ron
     

    Attached Files:

    Slipdigit likes this.
  17. Deacs

    Deacs Well i am from Cumbria.

    For me personally my granda Albert's medals are priceless wouldn't give them up for all the tea in China.
    My only regret is that i don't have granda Robert's medals has my mam threw them out after Bob died,mam is not a good collector of anything if she thinks it is no good she throws it out but she regrets this decision now but too late i am afraid.
     
  18. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    I got a slap on the wrist from the Adjutant over medals. A pal was on guard mount from Chelsea Barracks, he came into my office in a flat panic - 'left my medals at home' have you got yours?' We are to this day sure somebody 'bubbled' us, the Adjutant was inspecting the guard mount when he got to my pal he lifted the court mounted medals with his cane and asked if they were his! Both placed on report - admonished with a smile from Captain Fitzalan Howard.
     
  19. James S

    James S Very Senior Member

    The prices quoted by the site would seem to be the norm, not a lot in terms of money, having said that £'s do not reflect anything in terms of service to one's country or the loyalty shown to one's friends.
    In terms of collecting Simon's post makes sense.

    A few years ago I "priced" a set from a dealer who waved his hands over them , mentioned a figure as he told me there are a few photos with them , general disinterest was my impression.
    I sometimes get the impression that unless it is "German" dealers have little time and British Stars" from WW2. ( Air crew Star Europe being the exception) are seen as being nothing out of the ordinary.

    As things worked out I have ended up being the caretaker of my father and his brother's "Stars" and "Medals", for many reasons the value I would attach to them is not reflected by their "market value".
     
  20. Assam

    Assam Senior Member

    Whilst this may Irk some, the big values are in the "MAX" groups IE: maximum entittlement which are Navy groups with "8" stars. By this I mean the following....
    1939-45 star, Africa star bar north Africa1942-43, atlantic Star bar France & Germany, Italy Star, burma Star bar Pacific War Medal.

    Theoretically it would be possible for an Artillary Gunner to have this entittlment If he was on DEMS that qualified.

    But 5 stars + 3 bars is the "Max" anyone could get. They can sell for hundreds GBP's depending on service rendered & will usually have a long runner or NGS with them.

    I append a link from DNW

    Dix Noonan Webb: Medals: Auction Archive: Search Catalogue Archive: Lot 1136, 17 Sep 04

    Regards

    Simon
     

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