It's equivilent to the medal of honor, actually every VC has been made from a single ingot of bronze. If your ever in London you can see the ingot at the Imperial War Museum and a bunch of other VC's, very cool place to visit. They also have the only two examples of VC with bar. If you win a paticular British medal more than once you attach a bar to the ribbon and an additional bar for every time after. Though the VC has never been awarded more than twice to one individual
Here's another shot of it. Note if you are awarded the VC whilst serving in the navy it comes with a blue ribbon.
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Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your coffee."
Winston Churchill: "Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it."