Last Autumn, Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum, in conjunction with Killens at Mendip Auction Rooms, held their second antiques, collectables and curiosities valuation day, ‘Trash or Treasure?’
The event, once again, saw many local people come along to the Somer Centre, Midsomer Norton, bringing with them an array of fascinating items. On consultation with antique experts from Killens, everyone went home with a bit more information about their object and how much it should fetch at auction, should they choose to sell.
This was certainly the case for one individual from the Midsomer Norton area, who brought along what turned out to be a very rare, old medal. The expert, who recognised the medal to be something special, had sold one before as part of a collection of medals, and knew right away that it was worth a great deal of money.
Nicky Houston, from Killens, spent the following week carrying out research to track down similar examples that had been through other auction rooms, to discover more about the medal and just how much it might be worth.
Nicky discovered that the medal (or Order) was The Imperial Order of The Double Dragon, and was an award for outstanding services to the throne and Qing court in China. The Chinese Guangxu Emperor founded the order on 7th February 1882, 137 years ago. The Order was created in the wake of the Second Opium War, to replicate Western honour systems and further engage with the West.
It was, therefore, only awarded to foreigners to begin with, until it was extended to include Chinese subjects in 1908. The Order was only in existence for a short period of time, as in 1912, the new Republic of China discontinued imperial orders; thus making the medals very rare.
Nicky said: “The particular medal we discovered at the Radstock Museum valuation day was a Silver Gilt and Enamel Order of the ‘Double Dragon’, a third-class award, with a blue silk sash, embroidered with two red dragons. It was awarded to Bennet Palamountain in the late 19th century, who was an Inspector General of Statistics.
“What was so lovely about the medal, was that its provenance was complete from the time it was awarded to Mr Palamountain, and accompanying the medal was a photograph of the recipient, letters and documents.
“We decided that a suitable auction estimate would be £7,000 to £9,000, and on the day, it was an Australian telephone bidder verses a Swiss internet bidder, who fought it out to make the eventual hammer price of £9,500.”
Radstock Museum’s Bygone Days Talks team volunteers, who organised the ‘Trash or Treasure?’ event to raise funds for Radstock Museum, were delighted at the news, as Killens had generously offered to donate their seller’s commission to the museum for anything discovered at the event and sold through them at auction.
‘Trash or Treasure?’ is set to return this autumn, and perhaps something in your loft will turn out to be of great value!
Bygone Days History Talks take place on the first Tuesday of the month at the Somer Centre in Midsomer Norton from 7.30 p.m. in March, April, October and November. See: www.radstockmuseum.co.uk for details.
Lucy Tudor
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