TOPIC:

Can any one please tell why the medals with the clasps. Elandslaagte and Ladysmith command such a high price.
I have been looking at several Dealers including Ebay and notice that a pair of medals as above are being priced at about £570 to £600.00.per pair of medals.
I wonder why they are so expensive to buy.

Many thanks.
zippy

Hi zippy

The value put on medals by collectors can be very subjective and many of us have paid too much for a medal or group that was a "must have" for our collections. The pair in my avatar is one such example in my collection.

The appeal in the case of Elandslaagte/Ladysmith medals is much wider because the Battle of Elandslaagte and the Siege of Ladysmith were both significant events in British military history. They are very well documented and this often means that participants can be thoroughly researched.

The publication of David Biggins' definitive book on the Battle of Elandslaagte in 2004 did a great deal to heighten interest and awareness of this battle and the demand for medals of men involved in this action increased accordingly and so did their value.

Regards
Brett

Hi Zippy and other fellow viewers,

As a keen collector of Elandslaagte medals, I agree with Brett that one pays a fortune for a medal/s that you believe you need in order to fill a gap in ones proud collection.

This brings me to discuss a medal that I have never managed to view or handle, the clasp combination of Talana and Elandslaagte. I am yet to find the above in any sale in the last 16 years. I would be interested to know if any collector has the medal in their collection as very few earned this combination. I would gladly like to see a photo of such a combination, even to view such a medal on this sites gallery.

Some medals you bid on you loose to a higher bidder. A medal that comes to mind is a Talana medal belonging to a church minister who went on a postal auction as far back as 1996. Sometimes the medal/s re-appear years later on the market which allows a 2nd chance to fill the wanted gap, as collectors sell, change lines of collecting, or upgrade by selling off some medals. At times you only have one chance and in this case I missed this opportunity. If a reader or member knows the whereabouts of this medal I would love to see a photo of this particular medal. At times we trade medals of similar value. This apart from the man behind the medal who we seek to research and collecting to preserve our history makes our hobby so interesting.

Another medal of interest is the Mafeking QSA medal, the value of such a medal/s has also increased over the years like most. If any one has an Elandslaagte medal of interest, I would be willing to consider a trade.

Regards
Elandslaagte

Good Morning Zippy.....

I guess you could add Dated medals and medals with the bar Wepener into this group of hard to find and expensive medals.....

Mike

I want to thank you all; Brett,Elandslaagts and Mike for responding to my request with such very interesting and usefull information.

I have only recently started to collect QVSA Boar War medals and did not know how to evaluate the different clasps.I have been buying what I thought were good value medals and wanted to know how best to put a value on the clasps and the regiments.
I have learned quite a lot about the subject since joining this website and do appreciate the way you all answer my questions.I am keeping a record of all the information I am getting.

Thanks again.

Regards zippy