Want a Gold, Silver or Bronze Cross of Merit or Polonia Restituta? You can also buy other important souvenirs from the period of the Polish People’s Republic, as well as modern orders or medals. For an appropriate fee, you can purchase the Virtuti Militari Order.
Bazaar na Kola is a popular open-air flea market among Warsaw residents. There you can buy both antiques, antique interior items, clothes, old coins, and family souvenirs. Pensioners, wanting to replenish their pensions, sell historical medals, insignia and even orders that belonged to their relatives for decades.
Historical awards and medals can be purchased for a few dozen zlotys.
You can buy individual medals and insignias, as well as entire sets of sports badges, leaders, and job leaders. There are also important military and state awards on sale. Moderate prices, according to sellers, from a few tens to several hundred zlotys. Similar decorations or orders can also be purchased at online auctions.
- We mainly offer Polish honorary awards, awards or those, the right to wear which results from belonging to certain formations. - says Damian Marciniak from the Marciniak auction house in an interview with Wprost.pl - The widest and most highly valued market is that of the interwar period, beginning with the battles for the restoration of independence and the formation of the legions in 1914. Such jewelry is of the greatest interest to collectors. he adds.
In his opinion, this is due both to the great historical interest in this period and the simultaneous availability of these assets. Items related to the battles of World War II are also very popular, especially among the Polish armed forces in the West.
A new trend among collectors. There is a lot of interest in medals from the PRL period.
- In recent years, there has also been a clear increase in interest in the period of the Polish People’s Republic, as well as in the entire collection market in which we operate. Over the past ten years, these items have changed their status from those that were not needed at all and were practically unsold for collectors, to those that are now quite widely collected. says the expert.
Many of these medals or awards can be bought for little money. An interesting collection can be acquired by buying them for a dozen, several tens or several hundred zlotys. They find a growing audience.
- We also believe that this may be a market that has a chance to record a clear growth momentum in the coming years. The perception of the Polish People’s Republic among collectors has changed. Currently, a whole generation has grown up that was born after the end of this system and it is perceived by them not as a “bad period in which we live”, but as a bygone chapter of history that they heard about from their parents, grandparents, and who would like to get to know each other better, at least by collecting memorabilia of that period he points.
The first Virtuti Militari medal of 1792 was worth a fortune.
The most desirable period in this department is the 19th and 18th centuries. When an antique item from this period is put up for auction, prices skyrocket above expert estimates. - An example of such a value is the Virtuti Militari medal of 1792, which we sold at one of the auctions for PLN 310.5 thousand. The buyer did not enjoy winning the auction here, because immediately after reaching the price he received the right of first refusal to purchase the collection of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. – says Damian Marchiniak.
“How much are old orders?” netizens ask. The most expensive kits cost as much as an apartment or a fancy car. - A complete set of awards and badges in honor of Ulan Mieczysław Lebkowski, dedicated mainly to the period of the struggle for independence and the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920, as well as a few minor items, but above all all together with documents, identity cards. and notifications, sold by us at the auction for 324.5 thousand rubles. zlotys, he says.
Souvenirs of soldiers cost from several to several thousand zlotys.
On the other hand, single items from the period 1914-1939, left by soldiers and junior officers, cost an average of several thousand apiece. Their value is definitely enhanced by the fact that all documents stored in the set have the same values. In the case of well-known names, this value can definitely increase dramatically.
The aforementioned Virtuti Militari medal of 1792 was sold for more than 310.5 thousand zlotys. PLN, VM (Virtuti Militari) order for the November Uprising is currently 20-40 thousand. zloty. Souvenirs from the interwar period of the struggle for independence and the Polish-Bolshevik war cost from several to several thousand zlotys. Prices also depend on the individual and formation in which that individual served, as well as the state of conservation. The same order from the period of the Polish People’s Republic ranges in price from a few hundred to several thousand zlotys.
Orders of the higher classes are the most expensive. You can also buy cheaper orders
- Top class orders receive the highest prices. Not only are they very rare, they are usually made from precious metals. We sold the Russian Order of St. Andrew at a special auction in the Royal Castle in Warsaw for PLN 327,750, while the Order of the Builders of People’s Poland is currently worth about PLN 30,000. zloty says the expert.
In his opinion, in the case of orders, insignia, badges and medals, we have a slightly different perception of these values than in the case of old coins or banknotes. - Old money is bearer securities that change hands. Collectors collect such preserved specimens, looking for these rare species and the most beautiful condition. - claims.
Historical orders are perceived differently than old coins
In turn, behind the jewelry stands the person who received them for something; these are no longer anonymous values, but more personal. - Here, too, rarity itself, craftsmanship and the quality of preservation are of great importance, but they also bring to the fore the question of a real, historical person and his achievements associated with this value. Marciniak notes.
Collectors are willing to buy unique historical memorabilia, including the Virtuti Militari orders. Damian Marciniak claims that in addition to the first, historical medal of the VM of 1792 (then still a medal, not an order), he sold several orders of the VM of the 19th century, a dozen from the period of the Second Commonwealth and many copies from the post-war period, which are more accessible, but come from the lowest 5th class awards. Products of a higher class are very rare in trade.
Source: Wprost
I am George Brown, author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover economy news and I have been doing this for quite some time now. I have a lot of experience in this field and I’m always looking for new opportunities to learn more.
