tarbridge Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #51 Posted October 17, 2016 I missed out on the medals that belonged to Chester Lewis...for the second time. I used to go to the Columbia, MD Flea Market when I started driving. I bought his uniform when I was 17. The lady who sold me the uniform said, "I just sold his medals ten minutes ago." I was the underbidder. Missed them again....You are looking at this wrong "T'...this time you opted to let them go...last time ...you missed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonK Posted October 17, 2016 Share #52 Posted October 17, 2016 Wow! My jaw is on the floor. I take it they don't have anyone with knowledge of US military medals on staff? Can't believe some of the medals stuffed in ziplock baggies that should have been profiled. I know auction houses usually estimate on the lower end to draw people to the auction. I imagine they were shocked at some of the realized prices. The Dewey lot is laughable, though. Estimate of $150-$250 for three Dewey Medals, one to the USS Olympia? Congrats to everyone who was able to walk away with items from this auction. Some amazing deals, but more important, history that will now see the light of day. Look forward to seeing everyone's research! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 17, 2016 Share #53 Posted October 17, 2016 Wow! My jaw is on the floor. I take it they don't have anyone with knowledge of US military medals on staff? Can't believe some of the medals stuffed in ziplock baggies that should have been profiled. I know auction houses usually estimate on the lower end to draw people to the auction. I imagine they were shocked at some of the realized prices. I think some of the prices would have even been higher had there not been such volume. I spent about four hours doing the preview and was rushing because it was apparent I wasn't going to see all of the lots I wanted to in that period of time (and those were just the US lots...to say nothing of the British and other foreign ones, and there many, many of those!) There were a couple of lots where I was surprised at the final bidding...and had to go back and look through my photos, only to realize there were medals present that I didn't even look at while digging through everything! Of the opportunities I've had in my collecting career, this was one of the most interesting, that's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #54 Posted October 17, 2016 It became Discovery and Mathematics...1 bag=73 medals=8 good ones =bad photos =in attendance÷winning bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonK Posted October 17, 2016 Share #55 Posted October 17, 2016 I think some of the prices would have even been higher had there not been such volume. I spent about four hours doing the preview and was rushing because it was apparent I wasn't going to see all of the lots I wanted to in that period of time (and those were just the US lots...to say nothing of the British and other foreign ones, and there many, many of those!) There were a couple of lots where I was surprised at the final bidding...and had to go back and look through my photos, only to realize there were medals present that I didn't even look at while digging through everything! Of the opportunities I've had in my collecting career, this was one of the most interesting, that's for sure! I agree on all counts, Dave. You really need to go through those photos with a fine tooth comb. I did the same looking at some of the final prices. One that sticks out is the lot pictured below. Bag appears to be filled with modern medals, except in the bottom left corner....peeking out is what looks like a either a period Navy Spanish or West Indies Campaign medal. Some of the non-US items went for well below market as well. Saw some TR items that typically command 3-4 times the hammer price + premium. It became Discovery and Mathematics...1 bag=73 medals=8 good ones =bad photos =in attendance÷winning bid. Robert, I think I liked all of your photos on Facebook, but never said congrats on the pickups! Enjoy those baked beans, too....well worth it! :lol:I'm being serious, by the way....I'd gladly trade eating Ramen Noodles for a few months to have been able to pickup some of these lots. I imagine being there must've been exciting, and as you said, put you at an advantage compared to online bidders. I'm sure you had to keep your composure when inspecting the baggies so as not to give anything away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #56 Posted October 17, 2016 Here is one of the two China Service pairs...I wish I had $3 more and less friends at the auction. You really had to be there to see what was in the bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted October 17, 2016 Share #57 Posted October 17, 2016 Im sure there were some gems in the bag lots. Must have been great to be there and see it all.Really amazing.Robert got some stunning pieces.(Well done and great fun) Thought I saw a Southern Cross or two in one lot I was surprized at what some of the Bronze Stars brought as a couple lots looked fairly modern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 17, 2016 Share #58 Posted October 17, 2016 I agree on all counts, Dave. You really need to go through those photos with a fine tooth comb. I did the same looking at some of the final prices. One that sticks out is the lot pictured below. Bag appears to be filled with modern medals, except in the bottom left corner....peeking out is what looks like a either a period Navy Spanish or West Indies Campaign medal. Some of the non-US items went for well below market as well. Saw some TR items that typically command 3-4 times the hammer price + premium. It was kind of a little funny...one of the bags I marked down in my notes as "garbage" (for lack of an immediate better term!) went for really good money...until I noted in the photos the little type 1 Navy Good Conduct Medal in the lot! D'oh! That was one of the lots where I had fingered it, dug through it, but never saw that medal. Just one of those things. As Robert has shown, there were a lot of little "Easter eggs" spread through all the groups. I actually threw some bids on some of the foreign items, as they were going for what I thought were really great prices. However, my "great" and what's actually realistic are probably two divergent things and I didn't look at any of the foreign items during the preview, so none of my bids were really overly serious. I did kick myself a bit for not getting a couple extra hours in to look at some of the foreign lots, but what's one to do? The amount of stuff was overwhelming and I was back there for research on my book...the auction was just a nice diversion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usa1918 Posted October 18, 2016 Share #59 Posted October 18, 2016 Congratulations Keith...I stayed off the thumbnail group...I saw a friend bidding...I backed off...I had owned most all the medals in that lot previous to this auction. Whoever got the WWI Victory lot got a nice pile...I did get the other victory medal group, mostly for the Cuban victory medal in it Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted October 18, 2016 Share #60 Posted October 18, 2016 I wish you two would get your computers and bids in order...that auction has got me to eating pork-n-beans and 2 for a dollar Vienna sausage... You say that like its a bad thing!! Fantastic purchases! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share #61 Posted October 18, 2016 You say that like its a bad thing!! Fantastic purchases! True...who can pass on Vienna sausages and saltines... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted October 18, 2016 Share #62 Posted October 18, 2016 True...who can pass on Vienna sausages and saltines... Sounds better than sardines and mustard sandwiches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakkasan187 Posted October 18, 2016 Share #63 Posted October 18, 2016 Stunning collection.. Correct me if I am wrong but did I see a Black Widow Navy Cross (It had a Gold Star pin on top of it).... Congratulations to all who were able to purchase some items.. I just looked at another auction and there looks to be some really nice items coming up as well.. Lot of Third Reich items, but there are some US lots as well, I saw a USMC lot and other groupings.. Dan Morphy Auction starts I think on November 6... Leigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBFloyd Posted October 18, 2016 Share #64 Posted October 18, 2016 I actually threw some bids on some of the foreign items, as they were going for what I thought were really great prices. However, my "great" and what's actually realistic are probably two divergent things and I didn't look at any of the foreign items during the preview, so none of my bids were really overly serious. I did kick myself a bit for not getting a couple extra hours in to look at some of the foreign lots, but what's one to do? The amount of stuff was overwhelming and I was back there for research on my book...the auction was just a nice diversion! Like the US lots, the foreign and British lots had some nice things hidden away. One of the British WWI lots included a Panamanian Medal of Solidarity, second class, an exceptionally rare WWI decoration (100 awarded to each of the Allied Nations). It was a good day for buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilitaryResearchAssociates Posted October 18, 2016 Share #65 Posted October 18, 2016 It was kind of a little funny...one of the bags I marked down in my notes as "garbage" (for lack of an immediate better term!) went for really good money...until I noted in the photos the little type 1 Navy Good Conduct Medal in the lot! D'oh! That was one of the lots where I had fingered it, dug through it, but never saw that medal. Just one of those things. As Robert has shown, there were a lot of little "Easter eggs" spread through all the groups. I almost missed the Good Conduct when I went through the bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted October 18, 2016 Share #66 Posted October 18, 2016 With all the euphoria of the rare things one should always remember that one can bless the temporal one itself and its own collection. It is advisable to make a list of all items and paid prices. I've seen a few collection sold for very small prices after the collector died. That was the reason why I sold my whole collection ( after having medical problems and don't know what would happen ). After a few years without any collecting activity I realiced that I have the collecting gene and that's why I started to collect a small area ( WHSB, PSB, VPSB, General Staff and Aide de Camp ). It's hard to see that many decades of researching and information are lost for ever. If I read correctly the information the collector had was on his computer and the information is lost? So the lucky winner had to make the research again. And I'm sure some information is irrevocably lost. The good think is that USMF member share their knowledge with others. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thisisme Posted October 18, 2016 Share #67 Posted October 18, 2016 That one lot had a WWII Navy Distinguished Service medal with three gold stars on it. Also looked like a French made US DSC in there. Any idea who the DSM was awarded to? Cannot be to many people awarded that many Navy DSM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 18, 2016 Share #68 Posted October 18, 2016 That one lot had a WWII Navy Distinguished Service medal with three gold stars on it. Also looked like a French made US DSC in there. Any idea who the DSM was awarded to? Cannot be to many people awarded that many Navy DSM. Yes, and the DSM was beautiful. No idea who it belonged to, though. That was the sad thing...the owner might have known, but it was forever lost to history... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 18, 2016 Share #69 Posted October 18, 2016 Correct me if I am wrong but did I see a Black Widow Navy Cross (It had a Gold Star pin on top of it).... If I'm remembering correctly, that one, up close, looked like someone had dipped it in brown paint. Egads. Pretty awful looking in hand! That was one of the things about the auction...there were a few mines in the field, so if someone didn't know what they were doing, it would have been easy to buy something bad (which is why I stayed out of the British and German stuff...just don't know enough about them to feel comfortable buying them, even for a quick flip...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted October 18, 2016 Share #70 Posted October 18, 2016 The pictures from one of those unceremonious lot piles of medals that I believe went for $1k sure looked like a WW2 Navy DSM with wrap brooch judging from the patina, ribbon and appearing to be a wrapped brooch from the edges in the scan. It had one or two stars on the ribbon, if I remember. But perhaps not what it seemed, like the Navy Cross just mentioned. Thanks to whoever it was that posted the link to that auction for the rest of us to see what there was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share #71 Posted October 18, 2016 The pictures from one of those unceremonious lot piles of medals that I believe went for $1k sure looked like a WW2 Navy DSM with wrap brooch judging from the patina, ribbon and appearing to be a wrapped brooch from the edges in the scan. It had one or two stars on the ribbon, if I remember. But perhaps not what it seemed, like the Navy Cross just mentioned. Thanks to whoever it was that posted the link to that auction for the rest of us to see what there was.The DSM was nice...the Navy Cross looked to have undergone mutation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakkasan187 Posted October 18, 2016 Share #72 Posted October 18, 2016 Thanks for the information on the Navy Cross guys... Too good to be true.. Leigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thisisme Posted October 19, 2016 Share #73 Posted October 19, 2016 Yes, and the DSM was beautiful. No idea who it belonged to, though. That was the sad thing...the owner might have known, but it was forever lost to history... Sounded like a wild and crazy auction. Wish I was there. $1500 medal mixed up in a bag with $3 medals. Those bag lots were gold to the people that were able to see them in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 20, 2016 Share #74 Posted October 20, 2016 The pictures from one of those unceremonious lot piles of medals that I believe went for $1k sure looked like a WW2 Navy DSM with wrap brooch judging from the patina, ribbon and appearing to be a wrapped brooch from the edges in the scan. It had one or two stars on the ribbon, if I remember. But perhaps not what it seemed, like the Navy Cross just mentioned. Thanks to whoever it was that posted the link to that auction for the rest of us to see what there was. Yep, like Robert said, the DSM was nice. There was a Navy Silver Star planchet in there along with the French made DSC. That DSM might have been my favorite looking medal at the auction. Really pretty, and sold for what I thought was a pretty fair value, all things considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share #75 Posted October 20, 2016 Yep, like Robert said, the DSM was nice. There was a Navy Silver Star planchet in there along with the French made DSC. That DSM might have been my favorite looking medal at the auction. Really pretty, and sold for what I thought was a pretty fair value, all things considered. I agree with Dave...it had the coolest look of about any single there...I just had my eye on a few hundred others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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