ANTIQUES Roadshow expert Mark Smith dished out an evaluation of one guest’s grandparent’s war medals – finding one big problem with the collection.
As a military museum curator and specialist in military medals, Mark was very pleased to see a collection of war medals in Sunday’s episode of the BBC show.
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The guest was left shocked over Mark’s price of her grandfather’s medals individually and as a collection.
But, there was a missing medal which impacted the evaluation.
The missing medal was called the Stanislaus medal and the guest had no clue how it disappeared.
The guest revealed the medal went missing after a dinner party hosted by her grandmother many years ago.
Mark suggested buying a replacement, but that would cost £5,000.
As Mark inspected the medals, he valued the military cross and bar at £3,500, the Order of St Anna at £5,000.
Mark left the guest stunned as he informed her: “If you had the whole lot, it’s a £15,000 group of medals.”
The guest replied: “Oh my goodness!”
Inspecting the medals, Mark explained: “You not only have a military cross, but you have what is known as a military cross and bar.
“So the bar represents the second award of that medal so he’s won that twice, so he is a very brave man.
“He then has the 1914-15 star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal, which is known as the ‘trio’.”
Mark added: “That is the classic set of war medals for someone who was out in France right at the start of the war and, probably, all the way up to the end.
“And then you have this wonderful thing, which is the Russian Order of St Anna but the one thing you don’t have here is the Order of Saint Stanislaus.
“I had a look at what your great grandfather was doing and, whilst he was fighting on the Western Front, when the war finished, he went off to Russia,” Mark continued to explain.
“That’s why this medal is called the 1914-1920 British War Medal because it also covers that period when we were fighting with the White Russian Army at the end of World War One.”
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