# Stolen, found/returned medals (merged)



## Grunt_031 (28 Nov 2007)

I received a email from one of my collector brethren of a theft of medals from a residence in Calgary. Please keep you eyes and ears open and hopefully they can be safely recovered. 

I have cut and paste the information below.



> I'm sending this e-mail to a small number of dealers and collectors of war
> medals. I found your e-mail addresses on your web sites.
> 
> Last week (November 20, 2007), a burglary occurred at my sister-in-law's
> ...


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## armyvern (28 Nov 2007)

Hmmm. Hope they find the bastards that stole them.

Question for the experts here ...

The article says that the Colonel's CD was amongst the medals stolen -- have they always been engraved with the recipients name as they are now?


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## Michael OLeary (28 Nov 2007)

ArmyVern said:
			
		

> Hmmm. Hope they find the bastards that stole them.
> 
> Question for the experts here ...
> 
> The article says that the Colonel's CD was amongst the medals stolen -- have they always been engraved with the recipients name as they are now?



The EiiR version is engraved as we now get them.  The GvR version had a suspension bar with "CANADA" on it and the recipient's details were on the back of the bar.


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## Shamrock (28 Nov 2007)

Yeah, and collectors are the scum of the Earth.


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## armyvern (28 Nov 2007)

Michael O`Leary said:
			
		

> The EiiR version is engraved as we now get them.  The GvR version had a suspension bar with "CANADA" on it and the recipient's details were on the back of the bar.



So, that's good then. At least one of the stolen medals is readily identifable as to it's rightful owner.

Another question (I'm no expert here!!), is there such thing as a database maintained somewhere to track the names/particulars etc of stolen honours and awards so that anyone seeing them listed "for sale" could confirm whether or not they were _hot_?

Kind of like how the 1st Canadian Parachute Bn website lists lost/stolen coin serial numbers to be on the lookout for?


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## Michael OLeary (28 Nov 2007)

No, there's no singular database that I know of.  It would be best if the information was posted to a number of collectors forums, where any web search by an ethical prospective buyer (if they reappear) would turn up a hit on the reported theft.

For example:

British Medal Forum

And it's already there - http://www.britishmedalforum.com//viewtopic.php?t=22947&highlight=


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## Jorkapp (11 Jun 2008)

From DWAN news aggregator:



> PUBLICATION:  Waterloo Region Record
> DATE:  2008.06.07
> EDITION:  Final
> SECTION:  News
> ...


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## Scoobie Newbie (11 Jun 2008)

Very, very low in deed.


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## OldSolduer (11 Jun 2008)

LoneWolf I think someone needs a blanket party....


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## Scoobie Newbie (11 Jun 2008)

Now I know it could be ANYONE, but usually people that go to the Legion have an idea about those things and what they mean.  I hope that's not the case here.


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## freeze_time311 (11 Jun 2008)

What a horrible thing to do.  The thief truly has no soul.


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## Sigger (11 Jun 2008)

I would rip that persons face off.  I am so mad right now.


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## geo (11 Jun 2008)

Is it not possible that another veteran accidentaly left with the medals - thinking they were his OR his friend's?

Better than average chance that they will turn up IMHO


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## RTaylor (11 Jun 2008)

What piece of shit dirtbag would do such a thing...honestly.

I've gotten my fingers crossed that they were misplaced by someone and they'll turn up, or that a security camera somewhere picked up whoever stole them.

Either way, I hope the hero gets them back and plants his foot up the thieve's ass.


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## TacticalW (13 Jun 2008)

If that wasn't an accident and some guy actually stole it... wow... what a low life. Bloody pathetic bastard... I can go on and on, it makes me sick.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (8 Apr 2009)

Well done lad. 


http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/04/07/9042076-cp.html

Mountie's military links reunite widow with keepsakes 

By THE CANADIAN PRESS 
    
NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. - A Quebec widow will see the return of her late husband's stolen war medals, thanks to a North Vancouver RCMP officer and former military serviceman. 

A unique wooden plaque with several medals on it was among the items found in March 2008 in a stolen truck in North Vancouver. 
Const. Rob Pearson, a member of the North Vancouver RCMP traffic unit, went to work early last month after receiving the file. 

Attempts to track the owner had hit a dead end but Pearson, a former serviceman with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, tapped his military links to find out the medals were awarded to Pierre Leduc for Second World War service in Italy with the Royal 22nd Regiment, the Van Doos. 

An invitation for a 75th anniversary in Gatineau, Que., was also found with the medals and the organizers were able to give Pearson the contact information for Luduc's widow, Carmen. 

Police say she was thrilled to learn the medals are now on their way back to her.


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## geo (8 Apr 2009)

BZ to Constable Pearson


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## noneck (8 Apr 2009)

Rob is a buddy of mine, he is known affectionately as the "Old ba%^ard". This is his second file related to the CF recently. About a year ago he arrested a man impersonating a soldier in the North Van Legion. This POS was cadging free drinks from the patrons by spinning tales of his recent tour to Afghanistan, that is until  Rob sussed him out as a fraud and asked him for his military ID.

BZ Rob.

Noneck


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## Michael OLeary (8 Apr 2009)

This guy? http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/55646.0.html


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## noneck (10 Apr 2009)

Yeah the same guy, but that was his first arrest in Delta. He tried the same thing in N Van a short while later and that's when Rob arrested him. He told Rob he didn't have any CF ID as the Delta PD had taken it off him during the previous arrest. 

He had supposedly impersonated many different occupations to include a Doctor amongst other things. Dude needed some serious mental health assistance!


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (10 Apr 2009)

These are the stories that make you smile   

There are good guys (and gals) out there.


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## noneck (12 Apr 2009)

_These are the stories that make you smile There are good guys (and gals) out there._

I don't know how to take this comment?  I hope that you don't mean that Members such as Rob are in the minority....because if that's the case I take great offence to it. 

I should preface this with the comment that I am a tad sensitive about this subject due to the daily lambasting that cops (Not just the RCMP) get by the media. I can assure you that 99.999% of us put our gear on daily and go forth to do good. 

Occasionally things do go off the rails, but decisions made by cops in nanoseconds are then dissected by lawyers over a period of months if not years. We are only human, but we are the humans that that are out there in the rain or the cold responding to hang up 911 phonecalls, domestic assaults, rollover motor vehicle accidents, gang shootings in progress (Or all of the above in a single shift!) 

EW if this isn't what you meant by your comment then I apologise for the rant.

Noneck


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## PMedMoe (12 Apr 2009)

If I may be so bold as to presume, I think what EW meant by her statement is that in the news we hear so much about the "bad" types (eg: military member arrested on child porn possession) that it's nice (*much* nicer) to hear the good stories.


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (12 Apr 2009)

Well noneck...how you took my comment was the EXACT opposite of what I meant.  
PMedMoe hit the nail on the head.

Let me clarify,  It is NICE to hear stories with a NICE outcome and that the majority of police officers, who I KNOW to be NICE guys (and gals). But we don't hear about it as often as when something bad happens.  

Hey man, I hear you, I am married to a soldier, the on going joke in our house that if he does something wrong, no matter how small, or whatever in life he accomplishes after the military, the headline will always read:  CANADIAN SOLDIER gets caught jaywalking or whatever it is....

Apology accepted ;D


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## noneck (12 Apr 2009)

EW no worries!  

Noneck


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## 57Chevy (15 Aug 2011)

Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Lost medals returned to veteran 
Aedan Helmer / Ottawa Sun
http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/08/14/lost-medals-returned-to-veteran

After spending a half-century apart, a decorated Canadian war hero was reunited Sunday with a part of his heritage he thought was lost forever.

John Rawson “Ross” Kennedy Stewart served his country in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, patrolling the Atlantic aboard the HMCS Regina, among other warships, from Dec. 1940 until the war’s end, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander.

A set of five service medals — the Atlantic Star, Africa Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, 1939-1945 War Medal and Canadian Forces Decoration — vanished nearly 50 years ago, lost in the ether, until they resurfaced right in Stewart’s back yard.

Doing some research on his 90-year-old grandfather, Scott Stewart ran the veteran’s name through Google, and the first hit came back to a military memorabilia dealer based in Orleans.

There, meticulously indexed amid a catalogue of new arrivals — graded by condition and priced accordingly — was the missing set of medals bearing the name J.R.K. Stewart, listed in “very fine” condition and selling for $650.

“When I heard, I said ‘We have to get them back.’ I don’t care about the money,” said Etta Stewart, 83, from the Aylmer home she shares with Ross.

A flurry of e-mails and phone calls later, and Jim Godefroy, curator of the Orleans-based Vimy Militaria, hand-delivered the medals to their rightful owner on Sunday.

Godefroy never actually had possession of the medals, and explained to the Stewart family the set was being sold on consignment from a private seller in Montreal.

And while the entire Stewart family is pleased to see the medals returning home, the whole affair has left them sour.

“I was really upset when I found out (the medals) were on the Internet, because it makes it look like we’re selling them,” said Etta Stewart. “Somebody got a hold of them — I don’t know how — but when somebody’s name is on the medals, you would hope (the seller) would try to get them back to the person they belonged to.”

Making matters worse, the package advertised on the site at vimy.ca included Stewart’s service record, which suggests the soldier is deceased.

According to David Thomson, the so-called “Medal Detector” based in St. George, Ont., military service records are only unsealed 20 years after the veteran dies.

“When it comes to our veterans, it’s a debt we can never repay, period. Then we turn around and we see people profiteering from their valour,” said Thomson. “The medals are a testament to their service, to a lot of collectors, they’re not (memorabilia). But in this case, it looks like a happy ending.”

The Stewarts know how the story began, and now that the ending is written, they’re left wondering about the in-between.

When Stewart was stationed at HMCS Donnacona in Montreal in the early 1960s, he entrusted a young serviceman with the medals — a practice frowned upon in military circles — for the man’s wedding day.

“He returned my father’s dress sword — he cut the wedding cake with it and neglected to clean it, so you can imagine what condition it was in — but the medals never came back,” recalled son Rob Stewart.

Ross Stewart tracked down the serviceman in Thornhill, who claimed he had mailed the medals back to the military base, setting off years of fruitless searching that ended two weeks ago with the online discovery.

“We made it pretty clear to (Vimy Militaria) that we weren’t going to let it go, we were going to do whatever we needed to get those medals back,” said Rob Stewart


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## Michael OLeary (15 Aug 2011)

> Making matters worse, the package advertised on the site at vimy.ca included Stewart’s service record, which suggests the soldier is deceased.
> 
> According to David Thomson, the so-called “Medal Detector” based in St. George, Ont., military service records are only unsealed 20 years after the veteran dies.



Incorrect. For post WW1 records, unless you can prove that a service member is deceased for 20 years, you can receive a censored version of the records, with any personal information on the individual or next of kin blacked out.


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## Michael OLeary (16 Aug 2011)

Sylwester, I moved your question here:

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/102167.0.html


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## Skinner D (17 Aug 2011)

It's great to hear about the return of these medals. I received my grandfather's France and Germany Star a few years back and tried to locate the other originals with no luck. Luckily, after a lot of paperwork, I was able to get replacements for the CVSM with clasp, 39-45 Star & the War Medal 1939-45 from the government but the originals would have been nice to find.  I was able to get the Memorial cross from my grandmother. To see websites like below really bug me. Why are these being sold and why aren't they being returned or a monument of sorts for made from them?

http://www.militarymedals.ca/index.cfm/fuseaction/productDetail/productID/871

I was under the impression selling these was illegal, guess I was wrong.

As for records, you can go to the National Archive in Ottawa and access uncensored documents if the person has been deceased for over 20 yrs. I was just there and photographed my grandfather's entire Air Force & Army military records. A great find!


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

Skinner D said:
			
		

> Why are these being sold and why aren't they being returned or a monument of sorts for made from them?
> 
> http://www.militarymedals.ca/index.cfm/fuseaction/productDetail/productID/871
> 
> I was under the impression selling these was illegal, guess I was wrong.



It is not illegal to buy or sell medals. Medals awarded to a soldier become his personal property, with which he can do as he pleases, including sell them. When they pass to the soldier's heirs, they also have legal ownership and can sell them if they so wish. 

The truth is that not everyone feels an attachment to medals in their family or to the soldiers or the history they represent. Thankfully there are people who appreciate them, value them and are willing to buy them to remember and research the recipients. Without those willing collectors, those medals that found no interest in their own families would as likely have been discarded as sent to Museums.

Attached are two examples of family medals being sold on eBay.


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## S.Stewart (17 Aug 2011)

It turns my stomach that some asshat makes such lucrative deals, on things like medals. You have to wonder how they were obtained and if obtained from places like pawn shops, flea markets, etc etc, if any of them were originally illegally obtained.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

S.Stewart said:
			
		

> It turns my stomach that some idiot makes such lucrative deals, on things like medals. You have to wonder how they were obtained and if obtained from places like pawn shops, flea markets, etc etc, if any of them were originally illegally obtained.



Why don't you do some research and look for answers to your questions instead of making gross assumptions that fit your prejudices?


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## S.Stewart (17 Aug 2011)

Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> Why don't you do some research and look for answers to your questions instead of making gross assumptions that fit your prejudices?



I didn't say the person who runs that site gathers said medals illegally. Reread . I said they were potentially being gathered from places where the medals originally ended up illegally (theft not that it's illegal to sell them) And yes my opinion is and I stand by it, is that I hardly think running a site where you are selling off someone`s medals for 300 plus dollars a pop is preserving military history, it is simply making cash, because if it wasn't not profit in it, chances are it wouldn't exist. I have war medals in the family, I personally would have words for any family member that decided to sell them for cash, something just disrespectful about it.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

S.Stewart said:
			
		

> I didn't say the person who runs that site gathers said medals illegally. Reread . I said they were potentially being gathered from places where the medals originally ended up illegally (theft not that it's illegal to sell them) And yes my opinion is and I stand by it, is that I hardly think running a site where you are selling off someone`s medals for 300 plus dollars a pop is preserving military history, it is simply making cash, because if it wasn't not profit in it, chances are it wouldn't exist. I have war medals in the family, I personally would have words for any family member that decided to sell them for cash, something just disrespectful about it.



It doesn't matter what your opinion of your family medals might be, apparently not all families through history have felt the same way. Medals, no matter what any of us believe they stand for, are property, and subject to all the rights of property held by their owners.  Your gross assumptions that a dealer in medals is simply a profiteer or that they are selling goods which somehow "originally ended up illegally" are narrow-minded prejudices that you carry simply because the legal trade in medals doesn't fit your preferred opinion.

Would you rather families threw them away when someone didn't want them any more? Or when the last heir dies? The Canadian War Museum probably has thousands of medals in its collection, go through the galleries, you can count the few dozen groups on display. How a many more would you like to see in their vaults, never to be seen again? Medals dealers and collectors are not criminals, nor are they trading in illegally gotten goods and yes, most of them actually do believe in the history and the men behind those medals. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make it "disrespectful."

Please explain to me how someone paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to own a medal or medal group which they research and take pride in because they are helping to preserve the recipients' memory is disrespectful.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

Some previous threads on this subject:

Collectors are Scum of the Earth says MP Peter Stoffer

NDP MP Revives Medal Selling Ban Idea

Medals and eBay

Medal and Awards Research


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## S.Stewart (17 Aug 2011)

Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> It doesn't matter what your opinion of your family medals might be, apparently not all families through history have felt the same way. Medals, no matter what any of us believe they stand for, are property, and subject to all the rights of property held by their owners.  Your gross assumptions that a dealer in medals is simply a profiteer or that they are selling goods which somehow "originally ended up illegally" are narrow-minded prejudices that you carry simply because the legal trade in medals doesn't fit your preferred opinion.
> 
> Would you rather families threw them away when someone didn't want them any more? Or when the last heir dies? The Canadian War Museum probably has thousands of medals in its collection, go through the galleries, you can count the few dozen groups on display. How a many more would you like to see in their vaults, never to be seen again? Medals dealers and collectors are not criminals, nor are they trading in illegally gotten goods and yes, most of them actually do believe in the history and the men behind those medals. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make it "disrespectful."
> 
> Please explain to me how someone paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to own a medal or medal group which they research and take pride in because they are helping to preserve the recipients' memory is disrespectful.



I never said anything said merchant was doing was illegal, and some which are 30 bucks a pop are hardly thousands of dollars. What's the difference between them sitting in someone's home, vs in a vault not much, little sunlight from the window now and then. What happens when that person croaks, what the cycle continues, it ends up in a museum. End result is basically same difference, if the guy running the site didn't want to profit they wouldn't be sold for what they were, each to there own doesn't mean I have to agree with it. You can sell anything that is your property, I am sure legally if I could sell an urn full of ashes on ebay, there is some idiot who would buy some veteran's ashes (people are strange) but just cause you can sell something doesn't make it ethical. I am for preserving history, don't get me wrong I just don't necessarily agree with being able to buy a brand new car while doing it. I mean really honest question would you be okay say down the road you became say dementia ridden, basically couldn't care for yourself had to be moved out of your home, and your family cleared out your stuff, they didn't want your medals figured you are on your way out they have power of care and power of attorney and you wouldn't know the difference anyway, you would really agree that it's no big deal and be okay if they sold them on ebay to some random somewhere, because that is somehow preserving history, and then they you know taking the money and going out to dinner, buying a new tv? 

Some people yes are in the game to preserve history, lots are in the game to make a buck. It's one of those debates that have varied views depending on which way you want to look at it.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

S.Stewart said:
			
		

> I never said anything said merchant was doing was illegal, and some which are 30 bucks a pop are hardly thousands of dollars. What's the difference between them sitting in someone's home, vs in a vault not much, little sunlight from the window now and then. What happens when that person croaks, what the cycle continues, it ends up in a museum. End result is basically same difference, if the guy running the site didn't want to profit they wouldn't be sold for what they were, each to there own doesn't mean I have to agree with it. You can sell anything that is your property, I am sure legally if I could sell an urn full of ashes on ebay, there is some idiot who would buy some veteran's ashes (people are strange) but just cause you can sell something doesn't make it ethical. I am for preserving history, don't get me wrong I just don't necessarily agree with being able to buy a brand new car while doing it.



You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. And nice that you can so easily compare a the selling of a man's medals to selling his cremation remains to "some idiot" or the purchase of a new car. 



			
				S.Stewart said:
			
		

> I mean really honest question would you be okay say down the road you became say dementia ridden, basically couldn't care for yourself had to be moved out of your home, and your family cleared out your stuff, they didn't want your medals figured you are on your way out they have power of care and power of attorney and you wouldn't know the difference anyway, you would really agree that it's no big deal and be okay if they sold them on ebay to some random somewhere, because that is somehow preserving history, and then they you know taking the money and going out to dinner, buying a new tv?



If my family found no interest in any medals awarded to me, I would much rather see them in the hands of an interested collector who would research my service history and keep them together than see them disappear into a museum basement or tossed out from disinterest. If nothing else, from the hands of a collector they can potentially come back to an interesting descendant in a future generation, from a museum that would not likely be a possibility. Your trivializing of the transaction and its meaning does not cheapen the intrinsic value of the medals as historic artifacts or the value placed on them by collectors.

So tell me, you are the current guardian of the medals you hold, how are you going to guarantee no future generation sells them?


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## S.Stewart (17 Aug 2011)

I don't have them, the medals are with that persons children, family members of mine. I have no control over them. I am not saying collectors should be stopped, you choose to purchase medals off ebay and you want to preserve them, go for it. I do have issues with people who are just peddlers, buying and reselling at inflated prices to me that doesn't scream care for much except lining one's pocket. By some idiot I was referring not to those who purchase medals, rather one who would have the gall to purchase remains. (I would never put remains on the ebay, some I am sure are callous enough to) I might part with family medals (if i had control of them) to someone who I knew would care for them if I saw no history in them etc, but knowing what they are(we all learn it in school) even if I didn't want them I don't think I could charge someone 200 dollars a piece it just seems strange to profit off something like that. Handing them off to a collector etc is different than handing them off to someone who is just going to peddle them. To me it's not like peddling antiques or old paintings.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

S.Stewart said:
			
		

> I am not saying collectors should be stopped, you choose to purchase medals off ebay and you want to preserve them, go for it.



It's so nice to have your permission to continue. Thank you.



			
				S.Stewart said:
			
		

> I do have issues with people who are just peddlers, buying and reselling at inflated prices to me that doesn't scream care for much except lining one's pocket.



The value of anything is set by the market - supply and demand, and the perceived value established by the competition among possible purchasers. What you perceive to be an "inflated value" may be the assessed worth of the item by many dealers and collectors with cumulative decades of experience. Items, of any sort, which someone is attempting to sell at actual "inflated prices" do not sell to rational purchasers. How then, do you differentiate between honest dealers and profiteering "peddlers"? Is it the prices they charge, based on having no knowledge of the items when you make your determination? Or is it the profit margin you believe they are achieving? If you allow that someone like me can buy medals, how do you choose to condemn those who might sell them?



			
				S.Stewart said:
			
		

> By some idiot I was referring not to those who purchase medals, rather one who would have the gall to purchase remains. (I would never put remains on the ebay, some I am sure are callous enough to)



Just to put this red herring to bed: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/remains.html



> We don't allow humans, the human body, or any human body parts or products to be listed on eBay, with two exceptions. Sellers can list items containing human scalp hair, and skulls and skeletons intended for medical use.


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## 57Chevy (17 Aug 2011)

You are free to do as you please with your heritage.

People are very happy to find their lost medals, in fact there are medal "lost and found" sites that exist.
So there is nothing wrong with buying and selling medals for profit
Worse is the manner in which the young 'serviceman' returned the sword and "forgot (?)" the medals.
Such disrespect.

Was he a Wedding Walt ?  
Wearing another mans sword and medals.....what else ?


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## Pusser (17 Aug 2011)

It is interesting to note that one of the finest collections of Victoria Crosses anywhere in the world (162 crosses) is now on public display in the Imperial War Museum in London because of the efforts of  Lord Ashcroft (a collector) who purchased them.

Most collectors take great pride in their collections and actually research the individuals and thus can tell their stories.  Frankly collectors do more for the preservation of their memories than most families.  If the choice is between collecting dust and being forgotten in an old trunk or being mounted and displayed in a collection somewhere, I vote for the collector.

Stealing medals is abhorrent, but so is allowing them to be forgotten in time.  Collectors play a valuable role in the preservation of history.


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## Grunt_031 (17 Aug 2011)

I would be more concern with the despicable practice of selling of medals for their scrap weight which is now back in vogue with current silver prices.


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## Michael OLeary (17 Aug 2011)

Grunt_031 said:
			
		

> I would be more concern with the despicable practice of selling of medals for their scrap weight which is now back in vogue with current silver prices.



That practice, I suspect, is less about the intentional selling of medals for scrap prices than it is purchasers of precious medals scamming owners who simply do not understand what they have. Not unlike the many "gold buyers" that have appeared in recent years. With medals there exists the added possibility that a "medal buyer" is also preying upon the unwary, offering low set rates for groups that they will then examine and resell at market values based upon the recipient's details. 

The current market value for silver is about $39.29 per ounce, or $1.26 per gram. A First World War British War Medal (.925 sterling silver) is about 33 grams, giving it a value of 41.58. That does not, of course allow for the expectation that each of the middlemen will be wanting to take profit from their transactions, so the offer to the owner is going to be less than that. Many single Canadian BWMs will sell for more than that on the collectors market as long as the seller understands what they have and describes it correctly - I am continually amazed at how many medals appear for sale that the seller doesn't even know to look on the rims of First World War medals for naming, or the significance their may attribute to the group. The seller doesn't have to research the recipient, the buyers will do the essential steps before the sale closes if they have the information.


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## Occam (21 Oct 2011)

Shared with the usual provisions...

Original Link
*
Ottawa vet asks for help to find his lost war medals*

An Ottawa war veteran is looking for help to find his service medals and keep them from being sold.

Eighty-year-old George Guertin said he lost six medals at a Vanier funeral home as he brought them to the service for a fellow veteran a few days ago.

"I was always proud to wear them because this is what I was in my younger days," he said, referring to his service in Korea almost 60 years ago.

Guertin said he scoured the area around the funeral home and called a nearby pawn shop to see if someone had tried to sell them.

"I do hope they will eventually show up again, because they mean so much to me, and to my family," he said.

The medals could fetch several hundred dollars on the open market, but Guertin said it's the emotional value that means the most to him.

"When my passing comes. . . I want to frame them and give them to my son because the surname is in the bottom," he said.

If you find the set of six medals with Guertin's name engraved on three of them, you can contact CTV Ottawa at ottawanews@ctv.ca or on our Twitter account, @ctvottawa.


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## The Bread Guy (30 Nov 2011)

Some GOOD news for a change about missing medals....


> It took two years, but military medals belonging to a deceased veteran have finally found their way home, thanks to the work of three Mounties and a retired military major.
> 
> The story began in 2009, when Surrey RCMP officers found the medals during a raid on a crack house in Surrey, B.C.
> 
> ...


CTV.ca, 30 Nov 11


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## 57Chevy (30 Nov 2011)

quote:
"It was a bit of a problem, because being World War II medals, they weren't named. Although, along with the medals was a War Services badge. It's a lapel pin and it has a serial number."

Glad to see that the medals were returned to the family.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/100399/post-1043763.html#msg1043763
IMO, I think when compared to the criteria for the "new" service pin, the WWII pins reflected the soldiers service in greater detail.

Perhaps serial numbers could be re-introduced for the "new" lapel pin.
Just a thought.


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## FlyingDutchman (30 Nov 2011)

Why were they in a crack house is what I want to know.


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## Occam (30 Nov 2011)

FlyingDutchman said:
			
		

> Why were they in a crack house is what I want to know.



Stolen property in a crack house....seems plausible to me.   ;D


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## FlyingDutchman (30 Nov 2011)

Occam said:
			
		

> Stolen property in a crack house....seems plausible to me.   ;D


True, but here I was thinking 'logical thing to do would be' then stopped myself, as that does not apply well to crack users.


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## wildman0101 (1 Dec 2011)

Funny I was dowtown 6-7 year's ago.. Seen this sign "appraise medal's" so i checked 
Explained my grandad's medal's from the Boer,ww1,ww2. Dropped Grandad's medal's
off to be appraised. 4-5 days later I call ... No answer. Called and called. Nothing.. so 
went Still looking for the looking and found the shop locked up. "Outta business"...
Still lookin for the A-@@@. And when I recover Grandad's medal he's gonna get a S@@@
Kick@@. Hope none of you folk's never had this exsperience... Best Regard's All,
Scoty B


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## Canadian.Trucker (2 Dec 2011)

wildman0101 said:
			
		

> Funny I was dowtown 6-7 year's ago.. Seen this sign "appraise medal's" so i checked
> Explained my grandad's medal's from the Boer,ww1,ww2. Dropped Grandad's medal's
> off to be appraised. 4-5 days later I call ... No answer. Called and called. Nothing.. so
> went Still looking for the looking and found the shop locked up. "Outta business"...
> ...


Sorry to hear about that Scoty.  Did you try going to the police to see if they can be of any help?  Since your Grandfather's medals are now stolen property.


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## wildman0101 (3 Dec 2011)

canadian trucker,,
      Yup. Got my Cav Cousin's on it. Also been online lookin at auction's, because most are sold through
them. Including every pawn shop, second hand, flea market ect. I'll find em and him ... Thank's for the 
interest. Cheer's. Scoty B


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## Hurricane (4 Jan 2012)

FlyingDutchman said:
			
		

> Why were they in a crack house is what I want to know.



I don't mean to speculate, but its also possible that the medals could have been traded for goods offered by said crack house. Stolen OR not.


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## M Feetham (5 Jan 2012)

It is also possible that said "Crack House" was not always a crack house. A previous owner my have left the medals there. There could be any number of reasons that they were there. The important thing here is that they were returned to the family.  
Marc


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## OldSolduer (5 Jan 2012)

Medals and decorations lose meaning from one generation to the next. The great great grandchildren of a WW1 Vet will find very little meaning in WW1 medals unless they were educated from a very early age as to the why and where "Grandad" recieved those medals.


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## Scoobs (28 Nov 2015)

Anybody know someone in the Niagara Region that is missing their CD?  As well, the NATO "medal" doesn't appear to have a ribbon.  Anybody know what operation it was for?

I'm a little surprised that the Niagara Regional Police just don't look on the edge of the CD in order to get the rank, initials and last name of the mbr (of course the rank would be when they were awarded the CD).  Then with this info the NRP could just go to the local armoury (in St. Catharines on Lake St) and ask the local unit to help.  It'll probably be one of their members anyways.

http://www.niagarapolice.ca/en/News/index.aspx?newsId=a01ac5cb-09b7-44de-af1f-7c14534ddf77


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