Notwithstanding the vast number of British medals given to Irish people explored in this column last week, the 1916 Rising Medal was the "first real Irish medal" and it was given to "all those who served in the Rising", says Mr Ian Whyte of Whyte's auctioneers in Marlborough Street, Dublin.
Bearing the image of Cuchulainn, the 1916 Medal was awarded in the 1920s to some 2,500 people, arguably more than the number of people involved in the Rising. 1916 Medals which are named or attributable tend to fetch between £300 and £800 (€381 and €1,016), depending on whose medal it was, while unnamed ones can fetch as little as £80 to £100.
The War of Independence Medal has a soldier on it, an armed Volunteer, standing upright with the word "Eire" behind him. There are two versions of this medal, a more limited version of which has a little bar across the ribbon with the word Comrac inscribed on it. The War of Independence Medal was awarded to some 60,000 people but only 15,000 had this bar, he says.
"The bar indicates they were actually involved in the armed struggle. They were actually members of the IRA, whereas the other people would have helped in other ways." But they're "not worth a great amount of money". With the bar, the medal is worth "about £50 upwards. Without the bar, £20".
The 1916 Rising Medal and the War of Independence Medal were each subsequently reissued. In 1966, the 1916 Rising Medal was reissued in silver gilt, with "1916-1966" on the back. It was given to veterans who survived to 1966. It is worth about £300 to £500, depending on whose medal it was.
The War of Independence Medal was reissued to survivors in 1971. As with the 1966 medal, these reissues were scarcer than the originals because many veterans had died in the meantime. Nevertheless, the reissued War of Independence Medals "don't seem to go that well" and fetch "probably £80 to £100", he says.
A named group of medals with accompanying information about the person to whom they were given increases values. For instance, if you have four medals which were awarded to the same person and can provide supporting documentation such as photographs or information about that person's role in the Rising or War of Independence, the lot could be worth "anywhere from £800 up to £1,200. The more you can add to the story, the more the medal collector will be interested", Mr Whyte says.
There are 11 versions of a medal awarded for "the Emergency", known throughout the planet as the second World War. The commonest one has a woman with a wolfhound, a traditional representation of Ireland with the words "re na prainne", which stands for emergency period, and a red and white ribbon. These fetch as little as £15 each, he says.
The scarcest version is the one for the Army chaplain service, which "could be worth £1,500 upwards". Given to the clergy, they have "an seirbhis seiplineachta" inscribed on the back. "It's the scarcest Irish medal and the most sought-after one too," he says, and there may be less than 20 in existence. "A lot of the chaplains didn't even bother asking for it."
There are also Irish service medals and an Irish armed forces gallantry medal, which can fetch from £500 upwards. The Scott Medal, which is awarded to members of the Garda for exceptional bravery, "very rarely comes up. I would have thought that they would be worth in the region of £800 to £1,000", he says.
Readers can contact Mr Ian Whyte at 01 874 6161.
