The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 3: 2000-2011
Jun 11 2011

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 3: 2000-2011 By the year 2000 over 260 Victoria Crosses had been offered for sale at auction (many of them on more than one occasion, and in a few cases having previously appeared on a dealer's list). Prices had risen considerably over the years, from the £26 paid by Mr. Holland for the V.C. awarded to Seaman Thomas Reeves at Sotheby's on the 5th May 1884, to the £120,000 (£138,000 including premium) paid by Lord Ashcroft for the V.C. awarded to Flying Office...

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 2: 1983-1999
Mar 01 2011

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 2: 1983-1999 On the 8th December 1983, almost a century after having bought our first V.C. at auction, Spink decided to hold their first medals auction, having previously been exclusively dealers. The final lot of the sale (Lot 404) was the Zulu War V.C. pair to Private Thomas Flawn, 94th Foot. Much interest had been generated by Spink's entry into the auction market, and the lot sold for a creditable £19,000, fractionally below the top estimate of £20,000, b...

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part I: 1856-1983
Jan 13 2011

The Victoria Cross at Auction Part 1: 1856-1983 'We have instituted and created a New Naval and Military Decoration, to be styled and designated the "Victoria Cross", which We are desirous should be highly prized and eagerly sought after…'  It is now 154 years since the institution of the Victoria Cross as the supreme decoration for gallantry back in 1856, over which time has been awarded to 1,353 individuals. The first investiture took place in Hyde Park amid great fanfare on the 26th J...