The Victoria Cross valued at £99,000 20 January 2008 By John Edwards IT is almost unheard of in the world of military medals. The highest honours given by Britain and America are being sold by a Bridlington trader for a combined six-figure sum. Within hours of going on the market, they were attracting interest from around the world. The original Victoria Cross medal Chris Dixon is selling dates back to the 1850s and is priced at £99,000. He is also offering a United States of America Congressional Medal of Honor from the American Civil War for £5,600. Mr Dixon, who is based in Prospect Street, Bridlington, 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 USA. "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." The medals were bought from a private collection this month and will be on display and for sale at the York Coin, Medal and Stamp Fair at York Racecourse tomorrow and on Saturday. The US medal can also be bought from the company website at www.dixonsmedals.co.uk When the Victoria Cross went on the website on Monday evening, it immediately attracted international interest. The medal was originally awarded to Sgt Joseph Brennan and is offered with his original soldier's book showing his allowances and clothing, a copy of a photograph of him wearing his medal and the programme of a show for the benefit of his widow and orphans. The American honour was given to Pte J Davis in the 1860s for capturing an enemy flag after a skirmish. It also comes with details of his service, which saw him taken as a prisoner of war and shot in the knee. JOSEPH Brennan was born near Truro, in Cornwall, in 1836, the son of Augustine and Maria Brennan. He joined the Royal Artillery at Woolwich at the age of 17, giving his occupation as a clerk. He landed in India in August 1857 and in the following year formed part of Sir Hugh Rose's Central India Field Force which set out to eliminate rebels and mutineers in Jhansi and Gwalior. The rebels were threatening British counter-insurgency operations further north. His actions in April 1858 earned him the Victoria Cross "for marked gallantry 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". In 1871 he married Mary Eliza Broomfield and they had two children - Alexander Charles Augustus, born in 1871, and Margaret Elizabeth Mary, born in 1872. Sgt Joseph Brennan died of pneumonia at Shorncliffe Camp, Folkestone, later that year and he was buried at the military cemetery there. http://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/The-Victoria-Cross-valued-at.3676283.jp ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India