Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Honourable East India Company Medal for Burma 1824-26, gold, fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, edge nicks, otherwise good very fine and scarce £3,600-£4,000

These medals were awarded to Jemadars and Subedars of the Bengal and Madras armies. Two forces were deployed: one (mostly Indian) advanced through Arakan; the second made an amphibious attack on Rangoon and then pushed north up the Irrawaddy river. Though the medal was sanctioned in 1826, it was not sent out to the Presidencies until 1832. As a result, almost 200 medals (mostly intended for officers in the Madras army) were unclaimed and melted down. This medal is scarce because fewer than 550 were issued.