Once
one's occupation as an antiques dealer comes out in conversation, the next most
likely question asked is "What do you specialise in?” In my case, the
answer is coin, medal and watch dealer.
This
normally follows with "What's the oldest item you have had"? The next
obvious one is “Have you ever had a Victoria Cross, or a Knights cross"?
As far as I am concerned, to answer all three;-
1.
Some ancient coins,
2.
No I have never owned a Victoria Cross, and
3.
Yes, I have owned a Knights Cross.
Further
questions usually follow, such as whether you know the owner, what he was like,
what's it worth etc, all good questions, but most focus on the values.
Then
thoughts turn to, what's your favourite item, why and so on.
With
all of the above in mind, I thought I would showcase some nice items, not
necessarily just rare but interesting, over the next few months.
To
begin with though, is a very rare award, it's a badge that was given during the
time of great turmoil at the beginning of World War Two. To look at the badge
you perhaps wouldn't initially appreciate the rareity of the piece. It is an
award that was given to American Volunteers, who served in Finland in
1939-1940, who fought against Russia in the winter war, after Russia invaded
Finland.
What
makes this item so interesting is that one year later, Finland was again
fighting with Russia but on Germany's side.
(One of England Volunteers was the well known actor Christopher Lee, who
also served in Finland, and received a Finnish British War Medal with Bar, which they could
for a time wear on their tunic). So a few years later, these servicemen could
be fighting with their USSR allies against the Finnish/Germany. It is also stated by some that a few soldiers
stayed on in Finland to train and learn arctic warfare and may well have been
involved with Finnish units attacks on the Russians in 1941-1944. Finland was
and is a unique country and this is one of those rare items that just go to
show this. For more information visit Jamie Cross Collectibles.
