If you have any military medals at home, you may be wondering what they are worth. Mr Ian Whyte of Whyte's auctioneers in Marlborough Street, Dublin, says anyone who put on a uniform in the first World War got at least two medals: the War Medal (bigger than an Irish pound coin with head of George V on one side) and the gilt-covered Victory Medal.
Soldiers who joined in 1914 and 1915 also received a third medal called a Star (it's star-shaped) or the Mons Star. These three medals which often turn up in Ireland are known as the trio and millions of them were distributed, he says.
The least sought-after regiment is probably the Army Service Corps. You could buy a trio of that regiment for about £10 (€12.70) "which is very little when you consider what the poor soldier went through. . . £10 for risking your life for king and country for four years", he says.
But values increase for more popular regiments like the Royal Munster Fusiliers, where a trio could fetch at least £50, although a single medal might still only fetch £10 to £15. Other popular regiments among collectors are the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Connaught Rangers, the Inniskillings (from Enniskillen), the Royal Irish Rifles, the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Irish Guards.
Medals with these inscriptions are worth more than the medals of English regiments and they're sought-after in Britain too because they are more scarce, he says. Each of these trios should fetch "£30 to £80 depending". For instance, higher values will be fetched for any additional material, such as the soldier's discharge papers, other military documentation or a photograph.
Gallantry awards accompanying the trio also increase values. For example, a Military Medal (a circular, silver medal) would add £100 to £150 to the trio, whereas alone a Military Medal might be worth between £60 and £100, depending on the regiment. The Military Medal bears the inscription: "for bravery in the field" and turns up quite a bit in Ireland, he says.
The rarest and the most expensive gallantry medal is the Victoria Cross, which should fetch anything "from £15,000 upwards" for the first World War. Others include the Distinguished Service Order, which ranges from £400 up to £1,000; the Distinguished Flying Cross, which fetches between £300 and £700 "depending on when and who and why"; the Distinguished Service Cross is worth £300 to £1,000; and the Military Cross £150 to £400, he says.
It's not necessarily apparent to the lay person which medal they're looking at but the Victoria Cross is very distinguishable. It is a Maltese-type cross with a crown surmounted by a lion. Beneath the crown it reads: "for valour". "If it doesn't have that, it isn't a Victoria Cross. There's no other medal like that," he says.
The second World War gave rise to a lot of medals too, such as the War Medal and Peace Medal (both silver-coloured and circular). There were also Stars given for the various areas of operations such as Burma, the Pacific, the Atlantic, Italy, France, Germany and North Africa, he says.
But these are not referred to as a trio. They turn up a lot in Ireland because so many Irish people received them. They are "quite cheap" but will be worth more if paperwork accompanies them. However, a Victoria Cross from the second World War should fetch "about £20,000 upward". They are worth even more than Victorian Crosses from the Great War because there were fewer of them awarded.
Next week this column looks exclusively at Irish medals from the 1916 Medal to the Scott Medal awarded to the Garda.
Readers can contact Mr Ian Whyte at 01 874 6161.
