Crimean War Victoria Cross - And Fateful Cannonball - Sell For $387,500 In London Auction

We like history at Antiqueswest.com and see a lot of it in our search for unusual pieces and fine things. It is indeed rare, however, when something like the medal set of Major John Simpson Knox comes along.

Maj. Knox's Victoria Cross, the British Army's equivalent of our Medal of Honor sold along with his Crimean War campaign medals this week at Spinks in London. Accompanying the set was the Russian cannonball that took the good major's arm during the battle at Sebastopol.

The medal, the first ever won by a serving British soldier, was cast from the bronze of captured Russian cannon, poetic in that artillery was responsible for his horrific wound.

Knox performed the first of two acts of valor on 20 September 1854 during the Battle of the River Alma. According to his citation he "acted with conspicuous courage in reforming the ranks of the Guards at a decisive moment of the action".

In June the following year, while serving as a lieutenant with the Rifle Brigade, he volunteered for an attack on heavily defended Russian positions at Sebastopol.

According to the citation: "He remained in the field until he was twice wounded, all the time acting with great gallantry."

Knox retired from the Army in 1872 and took up residence at Cheltenham where he died in 1897. He was buried in the town's cemetery.

The understated by magnificent VC was sold along with three other medals - the Crimea Medal, the French Legion of Honor and the Turkish Crimea Medal. The cannonball, retrieved by a fellow soldier and given to the wounded Knox after the battle, was a most unusual addition.

Another Reunion Pending - We'll Keep You Posted

Antiqueswest has had the considerable pleasure of reuniting fine old things with descendants and family members of their original owners or makers and we've got another one of those reunions coming up, it seems.

Really fun for us to do this and when it comes together - we wear this big, sloppy grins for a couple of days around here.

The deal is still pending but suffice to say the items are from the Civil War and may soon be returning to descendants of the man who owned them.

So cool. Thanks for reading!

The Postman Always Rings Twice - 'Cause He's A Customer

In business for 15 years now Antiqueswest.com is constantly surprised by the extent of its own reach.

We've sold a lot of cool antiques in that time and managed to reunite a great many old items with the descendants of their original owners. We really like that.

But as a result of this constant interaction with folks who like the same old stuff we do, we find that that the once great circle of collectors and buyers is tightening somewhat.

This was borne out recently when a replacement mailman came to our door for a delivery and promptly said: "You're the antique guy."

He got that part right and I said so. That's when he said: "I've bought a bunch of things from you."

He gave me his card and I recognized him from his email address, of all things.

"Nice to finally meet you," he says, before climbing back into his truck and running off to complete his rounds.

And there you have it. Our customers are everywhere - and neither sleet, nor hail, nor dark of night will deter them from their collecting ways.

Antiques That Go "Boom"

Since we like old "Boy Toys" and that extends to sharp, shiny objects and some things that have gone "boom" at some point in their ancient lives, we at Antiqueswest have come across some pretty interesting old junk - er, antiques in our time.

There was the rat in the old howitzer tube, the World War II ammo for a Japanese Arisaka and the Mills Bomb on the bedside table. But never, ever have we found a box full of live fragmentation grenades.

Authorities at an Iowa appraisal event called the fire department and they, in turn, called the boys down at the bomb squad after someone came in carrying a box of - live - WWII-era "pineapples."

The box of Second War memorabilia included two of the grenades with the pins still in them. The owner had no idea what they had brought in and watched in stunned amazement as authorities carried the box away for destruction.