Fierce Competition For British Waterloo & 5 BAR MGS Medal Pair Pushes The Lot Beyond Estimates

Online, July 31, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A British Waterloo & 5 Bar MGS Medal Pair was sold in the Manor Auctions July 30th catalog auction. The Waterloo medal was the first campaign medal to be issued for active service, they are named to the recipient and highly sought after by military dealers & collectors around the world. Bidding was fierce for the medals, with telephone bidders quickly knocking out the Internet bidders and exceeding pre-auction estimates in the battle to take home this pair of rare British campaign medals. In the end, a very happy collector won the pair of medals via telephone for $8625 (inclusive of buyers premium).

As with most collectibles, the story attached to this pair of military medals goes beyond the auction. These medals were actually purchased in a box lot of mixed items at an estate sale in the central U.S. for $14. At the time, the buyer did not know what he had stumbled across. Even after taking the medals to 2 different militaria dealers, he was still unsure as to where these medals originated and what they might be worth. It was not until he contacted Manor Auctions, did he learn the possible value found in his $14 box lot. After speaking with Manor's militaria specialist, John Wright, the consignor agreed to send the medals on for inspection and authentication. Once at Manor, the medals were quickly determined to be authentic, and included a Waterloo & a Military General Service Medal, both named to the same man. Because of strong collector demand for these medals, Mr. Wright recommended these medals go to auction in order to allow collectors from around the globe to compete for these rare military collectibles and the consignor agreed.

Auction Catalog Description For The Lot:
WATERLOO & 5 BAR MGS BRITISH MEDAL PAIR 32nd FOOT Waterloo medal and Military General Service medal pair named to John Downey, 32nd Regiment of Foot (Infantry). John Downey appears on the Waterloo medal roll as entry number 605. 1st Battalion 32nd Regt of Foot. Also confirmed on the MGS Roll as having 5 clasps. "Toulouse, Orthes, Nive, Nivelle & Pyrenees". All are attached. The Waterloo medal was issued in 1816-17 for every soldier present at Ligny or Quatre Bras (16 June 1815), Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815). The Military General Service medal was issued in 1848 and commemorates earlier battles, there are 29 clasps in total issued for this medal. The 32nd landed in Portugal in 1808, and under the Duke of Wellington, fought in the battles of Roliça and Vimiero. They fought under Moore in the retreat to Corunna. They lead the assault on Salamanca and took part in all the major conflicts through Spain and into France. The 32nd fought at the battle of Quatre Bras, then two days later at Waterloo. There were 647 men of all ranks at the start of 18 June 1815, and at the end of the day there were only 131 men left standing; they suffered the greatest loss of any regiment on that day. Size: 37mm Full size Condition: Good VF or better Lot: 15714

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