Military Medal

With 39,000 of these campaign honours given out, which ones can generate extra demand and achieve higher prices?

Medals awarded to a gallant soldier who was gassed in the First World War were sold at auction just a few minutes’ walk from the house where he was born.

The personal stories behind medals are becoming increasingly relevant to collectors.

In its earliest days flying was frequently lethal, in and out of combat.

Vice Admiral Davidge Gould was the last surviving member of Nelson’s Band of Brothers, dying in 1847

Relatively few gallantry medals available for what was short self-contained conflict, heroic stories involving highly collectable regiments, a relatively morally unambiguous backstory (for British collectors at least)… the Falklands War can generate high demand at auction.

Lt William Emlyn Hardwick (1885-1918) was born in Brecon but by the time he enlisted to fight in the First World War he was living in Australia.

Despite their sterling service with the Allies, a large number of Polish soldiers could not return home when the fighting ended, as a fascinating archive reveals.

Air Commander J Searby had a key role to play in the Peenemunde Raid targeting the V weapons factory during the night of the August 17-18, 1943, as part of the RAF’s elite Path Finder Force.

When Bill Speakman won his Victoria Cross on November 4, 1951, fighting beside him was Corporal John Pender.

A group of father-and-son lots related to the Royal Navy may have been small in size but revealed a combined service in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars that was lengthy.

A selection of eight upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.

The first civilian Victoria Cross of just five to be awarded has sold for an auction record hammer price of £750,000 at London saleroom Noonans.

The first Victoria Cross awarded to a civilian is coming up for auction at Noonans on September 14.

To get an idea of the healthy nature of the medals market at the moment, consider the Victoria Cross sold at Spink (20% buyer’s premium) this summer.

Unique medal combinations will always catch a collector’s eye, particularly when accompanied by a highly emotive backstory.

The autobiography title Rake’s Progress: The Gay and Dramatic – Adventures of Major Denis Rake MC, the Reluctant British War-Time Agent perfectly sums up the story behind a group of medals on offer in East Sussex.