Victoria Cross up for sale  

London, January 23: A Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military honour, awarded to Sergeant Joseph Brennan for his exploits during the 1857 uprising in India has been put up for sale for 99,000 pounds (about $190,000) and is likely to be bought by an Australian collector.

The medal was put up for sale last week by Chris Dixon, a trader in Bridlington, Yorkshire. He is also offering a United States of America Congressional Medal of Honor from the American Civil War for 5,600 pounds.

The citation of the Victoria Cross awarded to Brennan said it was given 'for marked gallantry at the assault of Jhansi on April 3, 1858, in bringing up two guns of the Hyderabad Contingent, manned by natives, laying each under a heavy fire from the walls and directing them so accurately as to compel the enemy to abandon his battery'.

Brennan, who was born near Truro in Cornwall in 1836, joined the Royal Artillery aged 17 as a clerk. He landed in India in August 1857 and the following year formed part of Sir Hugh Rose's Central India Field Force which set out to eliminate those who were viewed in Britain as 'rebels and mutineers' in Jhansi and Gwalior and threatened British counter-insurgency operations further north.

Rare medal

The medal was on show at the weekend at the York Coin, Medal and Stamp Fair at the York Racecourse. It was accompanied by his original soldier's book, with a waxed cover and tied together by string, showing his allowances and clothing and detailing the ups and downs of his military career.

There is also a copy of a photograph of Brennan, who died in 1872 from pneumonia just a year after marrying, wearing his medal and a programme of a show for the benefit of his widow and orphans.

Dixon said: 'These items are very rarely seen in public. Both medals are the highest decoration awarded by Great Britain and by the Congress in the US. On average, approximately five Victoria Cross awards will come on the market per year and likewise the Medal of Honor. So, as you will appreciate, I am delighted to be handling both of them at the same time.'

He told the local media that he hoped to conclude a deal with an Australian collector. According to him, the medal was 'probably the cheapest VC in the world' since the average price quoted in the antique medals circles was 150,000 to 160,000 pounds.

The same Australia collector was reported to be interested in buying the United States Congressional Medal of Honor from the American Civil War, awarded to Private J. Davis in the 1860s for capturing an enemy flag after a skirmish.