I am interested in a medal because I like the subject matter and the artwork, but how do you determine what a fair value is? I've seen auction and website sales all over the place, from 40 euros to $750 USD, all in the same time period. Is there a place where such item values are collected and standardized, or is it all "wild west" action? Thanks
It can be wild west, but most times, IMO, if you see prices fluctuating wildly like that, the high ones are from people or places that are simply banking on finding the one buyer the want... in other words, they put a high price on it based on it's 'uniqueness'. There is a site called Worthpoint. com (I separated the name so it did not create a link) that costs $$$ but they track sales of many items and if you were in the business or active, it could be worthwhile to subscribe. I did for a while years ago but my sales did not sulport continuing. However I did find it useful to determine price start points on items and gain a knowledge of what type of items might be more collectible than others (knowledge to use when I was actively going to estate and other sales). Sometimes you just have to make a judgement call, but I would say most all should (again IMO, sight unseen) be under 70$ to be 'reasonable' for a purchase.
The metallic composition makes a huge difference for classic medals, especially for Europe. Many of the larger silver and gold medals were melted down. You can often find a bronze example at a much more affordable price.
I'm looking at a Abraham Lincoln emancipation medal made by Hughes Bovy in 1865 (shortly after the assassination). It's bronze, and about 62mm. Here's an old auction of one like it http://www.jkamericana.com/1865-lincoln-emancipation-of-slavery-medal#.W1H7ixL-huU
Medals of this era that have there original case will also add a small premium, it usually boils down to how much you want the medal,
Did you look on acsearch? https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&thesaurus=1&order=0¤cy=usd&company=
