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Medal of Honor neck ribbons in Australia


Adam R
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I’m currently on an extended trip to Australia to visit family. This past weekend I took a drive out to a twice a year gun and militaria show in Toowoomba, just east of Brisbane. It looked a lot like the countless gun shows that I’ve attended in the US. The main difference (besides the accents and currency) was the lack of modern fire arms. But there were lots of gun parts and accessories, antique firearms, militaria and other collectibles. (Please, let’s NOT get off topic with comments about gun laws in the US or Australia.)

 

There weren’t many US medals on offer but there were lots of British and Australian medals from WWI, WWII and earlier. The few US medals were common current manufacture pieces. I bought one Queen’s South Africa Medal as well as a number of WWI Australian badges, which is an area I also collect. It was a lot fun chatting with the dealers about collecting militaria in the two countries.

 

But getting to the main point of this thread, as a result of the show (I won’t go into details) I acquired to nice Medal of Honor neck cravats. Since these were purchased out of the US the laws prohibiting MoH sales and purchases don’t apply.

 

The first cravat looks like it’s Vietnam War era and may have been used in a display. The hanger at the bottom of the pad makes me think it’s probably from an Air Force MoH. It’s a bit faded and soiled but the price was reasonable.

 

The second cravat is really a nice item. It’s late WWII or Korean War era, based on the pad size. The ribbon is beautiful watered silk. The moiré pattern is very strong, as shown in the photos. On the reverse of the pad the ribbon is sewn together at the top but is open at the bottom so that it can hinge open to better go around the neck. It has snap fitting but was never fitted with a suspension device for the medal. It’s pristine and looks like it’s been pack away since the day it was made. (About 75 years ago.)

 

I wanted to share these with the Forum since I don’t have to worry about any interference from law enforcement as I’m out of the country. (If anyone checks the GPS data in the photos they will see that they were taken in Australia.)

 

Rather than try to bring them back to the US, I’m thinking about listing them for sale on eBay Australia, where I’ve had an account for a while. Any thought’s as to what these might be worth?

 

 

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Adam-

Values on these are strange and tend to bounce all over the place. Based on what I've seen sell on eBay overseas, eMedals, and a couple of British and German dealer auctions, I'd say the Vietnam era one is maybe $200-$300 at best. I think you need to find a specific buyer for it though as most people are going to want the full cravat rather than a shortened piece. However, this does lend itself to a nice display, so if you find someone who needs a display one...well...there you go.

 

The second one is identical to the Navy one awarded to CDR Gary in 1946, which survived beautifully as he rarely if ever wore it, swapping it out for the later variant as time went on. Being a nice, legitimate, WW2 cravat, I wouldn't hesitate asking $650-750 for it.

 

My thoughts!

Dave

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There's a firm in Australia that produces high quality reproductions of American and German awards, often for the movie industry, I can't recall their name but I would check their site to check the construction and confirm the second one isn't one of theirs. They use the snaps

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