TOPIC:

I once had a security manager working for me who was a millionaire, owned a very large house, and was slightly mad.
He had collected the medals, honours, and awards of the UK, 3rd Reich, USA, Vietnam, and Rhodesia. The last-named also included all the miniatures - with no facsimiles. Not only the medals, but also the ribbons as worn - this is why he needed a big house with lots of wall space and floor space for the display cabinets!
His sanity somewhat returned when he "down-sized", getting rid of the 3rd Reich (too many forgeries around), and UK. He didn't collect just one of each - for instance, he had 5 US Medals of Honor!!
I was very impressed with this slimmed-down collection and was very tempted to become like him. However, not being a millionaire nor having large walls, I suppressed the urge until I could design a FINITE collection as once the bug bites, it bites hard!!
I thought originally that I would collect ABW medals as, in my innocence, I thought there were only two! However, long research in BB&M (full of mistakes) led me to the the final size - 10, which represented the British campaign medals awarded in what is Southern Africa. It took many years to complete the collection, as I wanted to include the Royal Red Cross in the collection to pay tribute to the women involved.
As I am not a millionaire, I only have three originals - QSA & KSA (un-named) and a 1906 Rebellion (named) - all the rest are facsimiles.
It took me many years to find an example of the RRC with the silhouette of either Victoria or Edward VII. Eventually, someone made a copy, but when I asked him why he had the Royal Cypher on the front and the silhouette on the back instead of the other way around, he abandoned the project. I therefore changed that spot to a BSAP medal.
So there I have it - S.A. Campaigns Medal; S.A. War Medal (1887 - 1878 clasp on the ribbon and 1879 clasp below); Cape of Good Hope GSM; QSA & KSA - with date clasps on them and the others arranged 12-deep either side; BSA Company Medal (Rhodesia 1896 clasp); Transport Medal with S.A. clasp; Kimberly Star; Defence of O'Okiep; and Natal Rebellion.
My only wish would be to have my father's and mother's WWII medals, but those had been given to one of the MOTH Clubs in Rhodesia.
The bug bites no more!!
Would this describe me as sensible or as not a true collector?

Wavertree,

The medals you have chosen certainly represent the campaign awards for South Africa from a British perspective in a compact collection. The quality of some copies can be very good these days. Are all the clasps for the QSA copies too?

Having a representative medal gives you a complete collection so I can see why you have no desire now to extend it. Few collections are ever complete.

It is a shame your parents' medals are no longer in the family.

Best wishes
David

Thank you. Yes, some of the clasps are original. Indeed, the quality does vary and some are very shiny, so if anybody has a Transport Medal they don't want ...

My main hobby - which ties in to my history and military history interests - is model making. The more fanatical builders put medal collectors to shame - I know of a few who have collected more than 3 500 kits!! At the building rate of 3 - 4 a year, these people are hoping to live a long time. They are often referred to as owners of the most expensive wall insulation!!
Medal collectors can't be that bad - can they?