The Victoria Cross Guns have supplied the bronze gunmetal from which over 800 of the Victoria Cross medals have been made. The first VCs are said to have been made from Russian guns captured at Sebastopol during the Crimean War. These guns, however, are Chinese, and were almost certainly captured during the Second Anglo-Chinese War of 1860 and were used to supply the metal to Hancock's Jewellers, manufacturers of the Victoria Cross since 1856.


See Mark Smith, Curator, talking about the Victoria Cross to the Western Front Association here.