A rare medal awarded to a Maltese soldier in 1848 has made its way back into Maltese hands after it fetched �2,200 at an auction in London last week.

The medal, awarded to Lorenzo Camilleri who served with the British Expeditionary Force against Napoleon in Egypt, was bought by Tony Gauci, who is half-Maltese and an army man living in the UK.

�This medal interested me because the soldier was Maltese and also because it is so rare, with only 44 having been awarded to Maltese pioneers. More had served but only those were still alive to receive the medals about 50 years later,� Major Gauci said, adding this was also true of the British people who had served in that campaign.

Maj. Gauci has been collecting medals since he was a schoolboy and, along with those he bought over the years, has himself been awarded seven medals, having served in Iraq, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Falklands throughout his 30-year military career.

Only three of the rare medals were sold over the past 20 years, according to Maj. Gauci and, in the end, the medal sold for �200 over the maximum estimate of �2,000 at Sotheby's. The auction was held by Morton & Eden Ltd, an auctioneering firm specialised in numismatics.

Lorenzo Camilleri was among about 500 members of the Maltese Pioneers, an army raised in December 1800 and disbanded shortly after in 1802. He served with the British Expeditionary Force in Egypt against Napoleon at Alexandria.

To read the complete article, see:Pioneer's medal back in Maltese hands after auction(www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101207/local
/pioneer-s-medal-back-in-maltese-hands-after-auction)