Abstract
The Victoria Cross is the most important medal awarded for valour in time of war in the British Commonwealth. It is arguably also the most unusual in that it was based on design work by the reigning monarch Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert. The crosses were cast from metal from two cannons captured at Sebastopol in 1856 and not some noble metal. The medal commands very high prices if sold and thus attracts the skills of forgery. The Victoria Crosses in New Zealand were examined by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and the data was compared with previously obtained information from the Australian War Memorial collection. The comparative studies allowed the issue of certificates of authenticity to the New Zealand institutes and lending bodies.
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