Help needed

natty_asha

i'm wondering if anybody could help me out with this but my husband was left a jacket and two medals by his grandfather and apart from not knowing where to go to have them valued we also don't know how to best keep them so they wont get damaged etc.

The jacket is an irish republican one. its dark green in colour with two large pockets to the front. it has brass (i think) buttons with a harp on them. the cuff of the sleeves has gold stitching laid over green material which has been sewn on them along with what i think is 3 brass shamrocks sewn into the sleeves.

theres two medals. One is dark enough with a balck and tan ribbon and the other is a gold colour with the dates 1922-1972.

My husband seems to think that if he were to bring them somewhere, mainly the jacket, that he would have to hand it over to the state. I dont have much of a clue about these things so I couldn't say if hes right or not.

I would really appreciate any halp with this mainly in how to best preserve the jacket from discolouration etc.

HerrScheisse

If you give them to me I would be glad to take care of them for you

Moisture is not good for medals so keep them in a dry environment. Do not stick them in a cellar or an attic. Put them in separate boxes with some cotton wool to protect them from scratches. Like you would treat jewellry. I even put a packet of silica gel that you get in shoe boxes with some of my items to keep out excessive moisture.

UV - that is bad for dyes. And moisture for mould. So be careful about where you store the fabrics. And moths - the enemy of all old fabrics. You have these suit covers that might be a good idea. Put the jacket on a coat hanger in one of these zip up suit covers.

Maybe some others here have some other advice.

If the medals are tarnished, do not dip them in any cleansing products like for silverware...discoloration due to age can be attractive on a medal.

The medals were awarded so the state will not want them back.

danpatjoe

natty_asha wrote: »

i'm wondering if anybody could help me out with this but my husband was left a jacket and two medals by his grandfather and apart from not knowing where to go to have them valued we also don't know how to best keep them so they wont get damaged etc.

The jacket is an irish republican one. its dark green in colour with two large pockets to the front. it has brass (i think) buttons with a harp on them. the cuff of the sleeves has gold stitching laid over green material which has been sewn on them along with what i think is 3 brass shamrocks sewn into the sleeves.

theres two medals. One is dark enough with a balck and tan ribbon and the other is a gold colour with the dates 1922-1972.

My husband seems to think that if he were to bring them somewhere, mainly the jacket, that he would have to hand it over to the state. I dont have much of a clue about these things so I couldn't say if hes right or not.

I would really appreciate any halp with this mainly in how to best preserve the jacket from discolouration etc.

Hello Natty asha,

Sounds like you have inherited a nice grouping. The medals are a War of Independence service medal (the black and Tan medal - does it have a bar with the word 'Comrac'?) and the other sounds unusual - are you sure about the dates? If they are 1921-1971, then it is a War of Independence 'Survivors' medal which all surviving recipients of the original medal were entitled to on the 50th anniversary.

The jacket - are the collars like a regular suit jacket (Irish Volunteers) or are they buttoned up to the neck (Free State)? And are the cuffs like this one?

Regards - Danny

arnhem44

Hi Natty_Asha and welcome to the forum.A very interesting lot you have by the sounds of it.First off the Jacket will be your main concern to protect,if it is indeed a War Of Independence Jacket or even a Free State Army Jacket it may be of benefit to contact Collins Barracks Military Museum in Dublin and ask for advice as how best to store and protect it.The state has no claim on either the Jacket or Medals,there yours and yours alone.Valuing such an item would require a specialist in this field and may require contacting for example one of the big auction houses or a well respected militaria dealer.Such a Jacket and medals could vary in price from person to person due to the providence of what that person may have achieved during his time spent in the old IRA or Army so bare that in mind.Any chance of a photo?

natty_asha

Thanks for you help with this. My husband was delighted to hear that he wouldn't have to hand them over to the state. We will probably go get them looked at by someone now and fine out how best to preserve them. I've uploaded some photos to help identify them more.

arnhem44

Lovely collection,the War Of Independence medal is the non combat version,the combat version had a bar above the medal with the word Comrac on it,the other medal is a 50th anniversary medal awarded to all serving Garda on the fiftieth year of the creation of the force.

Morlar

Good advice there.