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Rarest and most valuable Us military decoration


emccomas
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OK, the Purple Heart Prices thread got me wondering about this again, so here are my questions.

 

What is the rarest US military decoration? I am not talking about rare such as PH #1, because it is the first PH. I am thinking more

generally, such as an Arizona named PH, or a Civil War MOH, or whatever. Probably no one "right" answer, but lets discuss it.

 

Next, what is the most valuable US Military decoration? Again, probably no "right" answer. But I don't really want to discuss medals that cannot be bought (like PH #1). I am thinking about medals that can change hands, including MOHs. MOHs can be bought and sold, just not in the US.

 

What is the highest price ever paid for any US decoration? What was the decoration. So far the highest price I am aware of is the Congression Sapce Medal of Honor for Astronaut Ed White that was auctioned a few years ago for $92K. However, the CSMOH is a NASA decoration, not a military decoration. What military decorations have brought big dollars?

 

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The rarest is the Marine Corps Brevet Medal, which would probably bring $25k if sold in the open market.

 

Tom Custer's two Medals of Honor were offered for $50k a number of years ago, but the final price was never made public.

 

I've sold a single DSC ("Lost battalion") for $11k.

 

I paid $1400 for a single documented Air Medal.

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OK, the Purple Heart Prices thread got me wondering about this again, so here are my questions.

 

What is the rarest US military decoration? I am not talking about rare such as PH #1, because it is the first PH. I am thinking more

generally, such as an Arizona named PH, or a Civil War MOH, or whatever. Probably no one "right" answer, but lets discuss it.

 

Next, what is the most valuable US Military decoration? Again, probably no "right" answer. But I don't really want to discuss medals that cannot be bought (like PH #1). I am thinking about medals that can change hands, including MOHs. MOHs can be bought and sold, just not in the US.

 

What is the highest price ever paid for any US decoration? What was the decoration. So far the highest price I am aware of is the Congression Sapce Medal of Honor for Astronaut Ed White that was auctioned a few years ago for $92K. However, the CSMOH is a NASA decoration, not a military decoration. What military decorations have brought big dollars?

 

Jump in here with your comments.

 

 

The answer to some of your questions depends on how bad you want to split hairs. The rarest decorations are some of the official commemoratives, such as the Andre Medal (3 awarded), the NC-4 Medal (7 awarded) or the Four Chaplain's Medal (4 awarded).

 

In general, all things being equal (i.e., single medals that are not part of a group), it seems pretty obvious that an officially named MOH would command the highest price. Last one I remember was an Indian Wars MOH that went through a Swedish auction house.

 

Crossover items like Ed White's medal can be tricky. Those wild and crazy space collectors will pay hundreds of dollars for a nut and bolt that flew on Gemini VI, so 92Gs for what some would consider the holy grail of space collectibles probably isn't out of line.

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Rarity has to be defined by the individual collector I think, and I believe the rarest item changes with the definition. My first thought was with Jeff....Brevet Medal based on the number awarded etc. Also agree with Tom on the simple basis of common sense and fact. IF rare means the ability to ever fins one on the market that differs from the sheer rarified acts to warrant award of the MOH and the period etc. I would also submit the Badge of Military Merit, or the NY First Defender Medal (I think I got the name wrong), or Gen Birney's Kearney Medal along with the examples Jeff and Tom mention. I don't know what they would command on the market of possible, but would consider them among the rarest as well. So basically I can't make up my mind....shocking, I know

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IMPERIAL QUEST
I would also submit the Badge of Military Merit

 

Sal,

 

You beat me to it. I think this one would overshadow the others... Here is a generational shot.

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Jack's Son
So basically I can't make up my mind....shocking, I know

I thought for sure it would be your Dewey Medal!! :w00t: :laughing1:

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1936farmall

What about your early issued Gold Life Saving Medals? That's something you don't see everyday. What do they bring and how rare are they? Probably more Silver ones out there but there again they may be rare too.

 

Michael

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What about your early issued Gold Life Saving Medals? That's something you don't see everyday. What do they bring and how rare are they? Probably more Silver ones out there but there again they may be rare too.

 

Michael

You make a good point, again, goes back to what you define as rare...IMO I would consider the Gold LSM rare because of the scarce times they are on the market...particularly cased with the chains. Silver are scarce but I would not consider them rare, they are out there but getting one at a fair rice is the trick...

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market garden
What IQ said.../// I agree rare to find one medal hands down on that one. I wonder how many still exist?
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DakotaDave

Hmmm....... excluding the CMH (I prefer that descriptively correct acronym rather than MOH), I would consider a named medal/s to one of Doolittle raiders deceased during WWII as worthy of the title "most desired" among collectors. There were 80 raiders on the mission and by my research 19 died for various reasons (KIA/DOW/DNB) during the war years. Given the historical magnitude of this mission I can't think of any other to top it, at least for WWII.

 

DakotaDave

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IMPERIAL QUEST
You make a good point, again, goes back to what you define as rare...IMO I would consider the Gold LSM rare because of the scarce times they are on the market...particularly cased with the chains. Silver are scarce but I would not consider them rare, they are out there but getting one at a fair rice is the trick...

 

 

I wish that I would have saved the auction photos, but about two years ago, there was a beautiful engraved Silver cased LSM on ebay. I believe it went for around $2,500. A steal in my opinion.

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I wish that I would have saved the auction photos, but about two years ago, there was a beautiful engraved Silver cased LSM on ebay. I believe it went for around $2,500. A steal in my opinion.

Go ahead, rub it in

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I guess its all about the money.

But.....

 

 

I would have to say any medal from one of my family members.My fathers cousins were all in WW2 as was his father.....Not the high end mega dollar medals mentioned above but irreplaceable if available to me.

 

RD

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Jack's Son
I guess its all about the money.

But.....

RD

RD et al.

This subject has as many answers as there are members of this forum, we all have thoughts.

It is entertaining to note that almost everyone thinks the medal that they DON'T own, is the rarest! ;)

 

Welcome to being human. :)

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I guess its all about the money.

But.....

I would have to say any medal from one of my family members.My fathers cousins were all in WW2 as was his father.....Not the high end mega dollar medals mentioned above but irreplaceable if available to me.

 

RD

AWESOME point. In retrospect, the medals awarded to our loved ones may be the rarest....they are all one of a kind and since they are all heroes they are rare. There is only one PH awarded to my grandfather, it's the only one in existence...and it's his, so it's rare to me.

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Javelin4life

Building on what Sal said, any medal that's named to an individual is rare in the sense that its the only one of its kind out there with that specific name.

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Badge of military merit....3 exist. I believe 2 in museums

 

If my info is correct, two are in museums, and the third is believed to have been destroyed in a fire.

 

The one criteria I was thinking about when I started this thread was "availability to the collector market" Neither one of the Badges of Military Merit will ever come up for sale (in my opinion), so they don't qualify.

 

I heard some really interesting answers (which I expected). By the way, I also excluded sentimental value in my original thinking.

 

Look at it this way...what US military decoration could possibly show up in an auction, and what do you estimate it would bring.

 

Badges of Military Merit, PH #1, etc. will not show up in an auction. MOHs in private hands can be bought and sold.

 

The Doolittle response was a good one, and follows a path I had not considered...named medals for a specific military action.

 

Were there any named medals for the Battle of the Little Big Horn? That might get some interest.

 

Also, absolutely correct about the space nuts, and paying insane prices. I know, I am one of them. I work for NASA, and grew up with the space program. I have lots of NASA / space collectibles.

 

Does anyone know what the highest price ever paid for a US military decoration is?

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I like this thread. When we start talking about "rare" with US medal and price it seems we get no higher then $25K. That is one of the reason I got into US decorations and away from WWI German awards. With German awards when we talk rare and value it generally starts with 6 figures.

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I like this thread. When we start talking about "rare" with US medal and price it seems we get no higher then $25K. That is one of the reason I got into US decorations and away from WWI German awards. With German awards when we talk rare and value it generally starts with 6 figures.

 

 

:lol: Same with Soviet awards (my old stomping grounds). I could blow $25K on a single medal by sending an e-mail or two...and that medal wouldn't even be that rare! They've got ten (or more) in the six-digit price range, and one in the seven-digit range (and at least one of them is in a private collection, incidentally).

 

The Silver LSM group that IMPERIAL QUEST mentions...was that the one to the Chief Petty Officer with all the guy's documents and uniform? IIRC, that went for a steal (for what it was) on eBay a couple years back. The guy was involved in aviation. I should have pulled the trigger, but didn't. Heck, I just wish I had kept pictures of the auction at this point!!! :lol:

 

The great thing about US awards is that you can assemble a stellar collection by paying no more than $500 a pop for medals or groups. If you want to get into the "rare air" and pay more, you can. But most groups can be found for relatively reasonable prices, making them attractive to many collectors and historians.

 

Dave

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I would submit some US medals that are overlooked for rarity, ie, on the basis of low mintage or issue. The 1st style Legion of Merit enameled on both sides with pierced arrows. The "black widow" Navy Cross. A Navy or Marine Expeditionary with attributed silver "W" for Wake Island. A Purple Heart or Silver Star to a Civil War veteran. The "thumbnail" large Oakleaf Cluster. A WW1 DSC + Silver Star + PH combination group. Any early campaign medal group with four or more attributed numbered medals (not counting the WW1 Victory Medal). A WW1 Silver Star or Purple Heart with 2 or more Oakleaf Clusters.

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teufelhunde.ret

In the context of the ORIGINAL thread question (Rarest and most valuable US military decoration), I think the 1917 – 1918 Naval Medal of Honor design commonly called the Tiffany Cross, named and engraved would be the rarest AND most valuable... if you could ever find one outside of Museum hands...

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In the context of the ORIGINAL thread question (Rarest and most valuable US military decoration), I think the 1917 – 1918 Naval Medal of Honor design commonly called the Tiffany Cross, named and engraved would be the rarest AND most valuable... if you could ever find one outside of Museum hands...

 

I agree with that completely. I think that the Tiffany Cross is one of the most beautiful medals ever created.

I wish I had the opportunity to own one. Alas, not to be, at least as long as the restrictions on buying and selling

MOHs (and my finances) remain as they are.

 

OK, take a shot at it. What would a Tiffany Cross bring at auction (outside tbe US, of course)?

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