DANGERS AVERTED 1589, copper gilt 19th century electrotype, 53 x 60 mm., unsigned, crowned draped bust of Elizabeth I facing holding sceptre and orb and wearing a richly embroidered and bejewelled dress with high lace collar, reverse, a bay-tree uninjured by lightening and winds upon an island, NON . IPSA . PERICVLA . TANGVNT., loop and ring for suspension, modern base metal gilt chain, very fine

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AFTERNOON SESSION COMMENCING AT 2 P.M. PRECISELY THE BOB RUCKMAN COLLECTION, PART I (BRITISH) This collection was begun in 1947, when I was sixteen, with a British Queen's South Africa Medal. By 1949 I had acquired a few more awards, including a French 1914-18 Medal, a Service Medal for the Spanish Civil War and an American Army Marksman's Badge, a very small start for a collection of an international nature which was largely supported by local pawn shops. Then in 1952 I came across a Medal Shop in London, and was surprised and delighted to find that such establishments existed. I purchased as many awards as I had money for, about twenty British Campaign Medals, and a book, Major L.L. Gordon's British Battles and Medals (1947 edition). The latter enabled me to identify the awards that I had acquired and reading it inspired me to make British Campaign Medals the focus of my collection, on a 'one of each' basis. Around 1963 I learned of the Orders and Medals Society of America (O.M.S.A.), joined it, and began to receive lists of U.S. and other nations' awards for sale. At that point, I decided to amass a complete U.S. Collection, and try to obtain at least one Order, Decoration or Medal from each foreign country that had issued them. Around 1981 I heard of the [British] Orders and Medals Research Society (O.M.R.S.), which I eagerly joined. I found that its principal emphasis was on specialising and research. "Specialists", typically, are collectors who restrict their collections to one period or war, and or to a single regiment or unit. Research, in this context, involves accessing the service records - and even life history - of the recipients of named Orders, Decorations and Medals, and then writing biographical articles about them. Beyond learning that my named medals were "confirmed on the roll", I was not drawn into the research aspect of the hobby. Most of the world's awards are not numbered or named. Those who are interested in collecting any and all awards of the world are known as "generalists". By 2001 I had acquired most types of British and American awards, and indeed a wide-ranging variety of other pieces from around the world, past and present. This catalogue [Part I] comprises my British Collection only. The American and foreign holding [Part II] will be sold later this year in the U.S.A. Bob Ruckman CAMPAIGN AWARDS

Details

DANGERS AVERTED 1589, copper gilt 19th century electrotype, 53 x 60 mm., unsigned, crowned draped bust of Elizabeth I facing holding sceptre and orb and wearing a richly embroidered and bejewelled dress with high lace collar, reverse, a bay-tree uninjured by lightening and winds upon an island, NON . IPSA . PERICVLA . TANGVNT., loop and ring for suspension, modern base metal gilt chain, very fine

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

Reference: British Battles and Medals (No. 2):

'This Medal was executed shortly after the destruction of the Armada, when the greatest dangers to Elizabeth I had ceased, and it was most probably a Naval Reward'.