Advise/comments/suggestions requested on disposal of collection

[ackworth14]

Further to my previous post regarding the Monte Casino Cross in this collection and the wonderful responses I received I have been asked by the owner to dispose of this collection. Can I say that I am not seeking valuations of items I would just be interested to hear from genuine collectors their thoughts and comments regarding its disposal. I have no doubt there will be a mixture of replies but it would be good to be able to see the range of opinions.

My initial thought is to dispose of it as a complete collection and maybe to even add the Arfica Star with 8th Army clasp which is missing and also the 39-45 War medal that is missing.

I then wondered if I woudl be better to split the collection between Medals and badges/insignia

and the least favourable in my mind , to dispose of the collection as individual items.

I would appreciate your thoughts, comments, and advise. As my only real outlet would be Ebay it obviously has some bearign on how best to dispose of the collection.

Finally before disposing of the collection would members like me to photograph the items individually and submit them to the forum for reference.

Photo of collection below

Thankyou for your time

1905-125-111 KAPRAL (LATER SGT MAJOR) Andrzej KISZKA - 6th Armd Regiment Cildren of Lwow

[TMZ]

Is there any other paperwork (e.g. legitymacja) with the collection?

[ackworth14]

No Im afraid there is no paperwork at all.

[jaxmon]

Many would like to see detailed, high resolution pictures of each item to begin with.

[ackworth14]

Im happy to send pictures of the whole collection to be used for reference. I was more interested in collectors thoughts on wether the collection should be disposed of complete or split up in some way .

[real steel]

This is a dilemma discussed often.
It is all a matter of motivation. Is the seller desperate to "cash in"? Of course more profits or higher gain would be made selling the items separately. BUT THAT TAKES TIME. These can be posted for sale individually on the proper website or auctions, but of course commissions are involved. They could take a year to dispose of piece by piece. But normally the gain is higher selling individually than a bulk sale.

Selling in bulk, you are bound to take a financial hit. It is that way with anything really. So again...it's a matter of how motivated the seller is. You send me a box of 12-15 helmets, I need to then either keep a few for myself, the rest I may not want. So now I have to move them. I, as a reseller, have to be compensated for that.

The other consideration is "How were these items obtained" ? Were they bought at competitive market value prices or collected 50 years ago, family heirlooms ? You did not say clearly how the collection was assembled. What was the financial pay out for this collection ? These are considerations that have to be accounted for before good advice can be given

I hope I am making sense. If not...PM me & we can discuss further in detail. I am well versed on how the process works

[ackworth14]

Many thanks for your comments. I appreciate what you are saying & perhaps I have misinterpretted the little bit of research I have done on recent sales. I assumed that the major items ..such as Monte Casino Cross (numbered) the Cross of Merit with Swords and the Polish War medal woudl be worth more as a group with their provenance of coming from one individual than if they were sold seperately as just individual medals and that the inclusion of insignia such as the rampant lion breast badge and the 2 beret badges would add to that value even further.
The collection has been passed down and what you see is the original cloth backing board on which they were mounted many years ago, I assume by KISZKA himself, all I have done is removed it from its glass frame. I have sold only British Medals 1stWW in the past and as an example a group of 3 together with maybe a cap badge & photograph always brings more than if they were sold individually. The money aside I wondered if collectors of Polish items also felt that the group should be kept intact.

[MAP]

To build on what David said. There is an historical aspect to this as well. If these were from a single individual it would be a shame to break it up. Paperwork or not.

Edit: I was typing when you added a new post with the information that this all was awarded to a single individual. I stand by what I said. It was be a disservice to split this up for monetary gain. If you had some documents confirming this it would probably add a bit of value as well.

[rbminis]

To build on what David said. There is an historical aspect to this as well. If these were from a single individual it would be a shame to break it up. Paperwork or not.

Edit: I was typing when you added a new post with the information that this all was awarded to a single individual. I stand by what I said. It was be a disservice to split this up for monetary gain. If you had some documents confirming this it would probably add a bit of value as well.

I agree with this 100%.
Ralph.

[real steel]

Okay, I understand now. Provenance is definitely needed to sell the 3 pieces or whatever associated items are included to get top dollar. I don't know the market for said badges...but regardless...I would think proof is imperative whether the items are German, Polish, Japanese, etc.etc. You did state you had provenance with the 3 high end items ? Yes...they should be sold together. Sorry I did not get to read that post. My opinion was given before your last reply