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#1
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Advice re price to pay please.
I have been offered the chance to purchase an 1802 pattern Royal Marines other ranks hat in good condition for its age. See the illustration (this is not the one I'm buying it was just the first image that came to hand!). Someone I know has finally agreed to sell me the one in his collection but I have no idea how much is a reasonable price to pay. I know these are pretty rare though so I don't expect it to be cheap!
Has anyone got even a rough idea of what is a good price? Thanks Pete
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'It is upon the Navy, under the good providence of God, that the Wealth, Prosperity and Peace of these islands and of the Empire do mainly depend' - Preamble to the Articles of War in the reign of Charles II |
#2
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I cant imagine there are any others to compare it with that have sold in recent years.
An item so old and so rare is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the seller has the advantage. If you want it you will have to pay whatever he asks I would imagine. regards
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Simon Butterworth Manchester Regiment Collector Rank, Prize & Trade Badges British & Commonwealth Artillery Badges |
#3
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It ain't going to be cheap.
Andy
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Leave to carry on Sir please. |
#4
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I agree with Simon, quite literally a museum piece. I could imagine seeing such a thing on the antiques roadshow and the ‘experts’ being relatively stumped and speculative with value.
You potentially could contact Bosley’s pretending it’s on offer and see what their estimate is, but even then with such a rare item their estimate could be significantly out on what collectors would be willing to pay. My suggestion would be give him whatever he wants within reason if you’re satisfied as to its originality, you’ll likely not see another for sale. Very best of luck and do please post some pics if you become its custodian. |
#5
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There is an adage that a good deal is where ‘... both parties feel cheated’
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#6
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Quote:
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#7
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Unsurprisingly no results on Google for sales of original 1802 pattern Royal Marines other ranks hats.
So I tried searching Waterloo era headdress. Perhaps also unsurprisingly hens teeth again. Closest I’ve found are these, but caveat is my internet skills are not exactly Premier League. Obviously one is listed as officers, both are slightly later in date. Christie’s also sold a similar shako which I can see a picture of but the link takes me to a silver cup? Note the Bonham’s sale was well over a decade ago. Handily the Bank of England have an inflation calculator which I’ve applied. Perhaps £7.5-10k ballpark for starters? But I appreciate I’ve compared apples to oranges here. |
#8
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I saw a US War of 1812 shako offered at a local show for around the same prices as Luke shared. Such things are truly not cheap. My damaged French shako plate from the battle of Bautzen was $1,100 and I was only able to get it through a trade. The Napoleonic uniforms in my study are all reenactor or stage props. I know I could never afford a real one. But they work fine for me as I like the red uniforms on display. My Welsh Guards and Canadian 48th Highlanders doublet are real, probably from the 60's I am guessing.
The two helmets on top of the bookcases are a French Dragoon, 1879, and the other is a Belgian Cuirassier 1850 helmet. The busby is 11th Hussars 1880's and the French shako is an 1840's officers. I got these items from selling or trading off my airborne collection. I wanted them because they give me the look I want. Bottom line if it's a real round hat for the R. Marines of the Napoleonic time period I can see it being very big bucks. I also recommend when looking at leather headgear checking it closely as it often distorts it's shape from drying out, and can be badly cracked. Good luck, Terry |
#9
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Thanks everyone.
You've all been extremely helpful and pretty much confirmed what I thought. The seller is a 'friend of a friend' and the last thing I want to do is to offend him in any way with a stupid offer. I have handled the hat myself and it certainly seems genuine. One thing in my favour is that he is principally an Army collector (all from the Napoleonic period or early-19th century) and has no particular interest in the Royal Marines. He is selling it because he wants to purchase another piece for his collection - which, although not vast (as everyone points out these items are RARE), is still impressive. He has owned the hat for many years and it was actually one of the first items he purchased. He has also told me where he purchased it from and that also supports its authenticity. He has asked me to make him an offer and negotiations will start from there so I just wanted to confirm what I suspected about the price. I'll make him an offer and see how he reacts to it. I certainly think I'll need to break open the piggy bank for this one! Thanks again for your help. Pete
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'It is upon the Navy, under the good providence of God, that the Wealth, Prosperity and Peace of these islands and of the Empire do mainly depend' - Preamble to the Articles of War in the reign of Charles II |
#10
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Good Luck!
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#11
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Love to see your RM collection.
Regards Irv😀 Quote:
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