Bilco

Pershing’s WWI Victory Medal was stamped “U.S.M. 5”. Colonel Al Gleim speculated that USM stood for US Mint and that medals #s 1 to 4 were issued to President Woodrow Wilson, Secretary of War Newton Baker, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Army Chief of Staff Peyton Marsh. Other known numbered medals: U.S.M. 37 awarded to Colonel James P. Barney U.S.M. 68 (mentioned on page 92 of Laslo's book) U.S.M. 70 (figure 113 on page 86 of Laslo’s book) U.S.M. 95 awarded to Brigadier General R. Krauthoff Bill

Hi Rob, There are good photos to compare your medals with here https://www.medaillesinteralliees.fr/portugal Bill

It looks go to me Rob. My 'tell' is the fineness of the fingers, particularly the forefinger of the hand holding the baton. Bill

Hi Rob, Check your second medal against the photos here https://www.medaillesinteralliees.fr/tchecoslovaquie For the first one, there are treatments for verdigris. I use a product called Verdi-care, but I've heard that WD-40 does the job. In both case, wash in distilled water after treatment. Bill

They do come in different thicknesses of planchet. See https://www.medaillesinteralliees.fr/pologne

It has the diacritical marks on the appropriate letters, so it looks promising. https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-1416873608-brazilian-victory-medal-medalha-vitoria-guerra-ww1-militaria-_JM#position=31&type=item&tracking_id=75e7502a-3e80-476b-be5d-7f8e734ce543

Hi Rob, There is a post about half-way down on page 23 of this thread showing a So-Called Dollar version of the US Victory medal. It's made of copper, so is a different colour to the issue planchet. Bill

Hi Rob, I'm interested to see the version with the blank central disk. It looks significantly smaller than the other medal. I have an example which is the same size as the standard : Diameter 36.5mm, thickness 2.3mm, with the Delande punch and BRONZE on the edge. I gave it a gentle clean, and it appears to be Delande's bronze doré, like yours. Bill

Good evening Gentlemen, A new web site dealing with the Victory Medals of all the Allied and Associated Nations has just come on-line: https://www.medaillesinteralliees.fr/ The author is Jean-Michel, who posts on this section of the Forum, and he invites comments, corrections and additions from collectors. I hope you enjoy the web site, Bill

The BBC News web site has an item about an exhibition of photos of German POW at Donington Hall in WW1 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-50168487 The small selection shown is from 54 exhibited at the University of Derby until 3 January. There are a few more here https://www.google.com/search?q=exhibition+of+German+POW+photos+at+university+of+Derby&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvg9vD27nlAhUnRhUIHUqTA48Q7Al6BAgJECQ&biw=1594&bih=710#imgrc=_ Bill

Good evening Gentlemen, My latest acquisition ... The planchet is a straight-forward French Reproduction, with no marks on the edge as to maker or MADE IN FRANCE. The 4 clasps seem to match the description in Laslo's book, page 99, where the raised 'frame' around the wording, and the 'grained' background is mentioned. They show the M like an inverted W that Jim Michels shows in his book as a Reproduction type 3 clasp. As can be seen in the last photo, the clasps are inside the ribbon, and the bottom three are held in place by stitches of red thread. The top clasp has a narrower backstrap than the others. The top clasp and the two bottom ones have thick ends, while the second is much thinner. I can't get to see the back of the back-straps to check for a MADE IN FRANCE stamp. All-in-all, an interesting item, and I welcome your comments on it! Bill

Oliver - I think your medal is a perfectly good original Unofficial Type 1. Graham - I think the differences that you point to are just the effect of different lighting and wear. Bill

I think this is the Officers uniform of the South African Air Force, WW2 vintage. See aafww2pilots2.yolasite.com/saaf-ww2-uniforms-and-insignia.php That seems to match for Eagle & Crown buttons and lapel badges, the double button cuffs, and the Army-type rank pips on the epaulette. Bill

Not the medal - the box! On eBay at the moment is a US Vic in a box with this label ... It's actually a WW II Victory medal box, with a bit of paper stuck over the end of the description to make it look like WW I ... Item # 11332447517 - but hurry - bids are up to $19 already ... Bill

Many thanks Paul. I contacted the Academia Falerística de Portugal to ask about buckles on Portuguese medals. Senhor Paulo Estrela of the Academia sent this reply: The buckle, a Portuguese type device, usually is a part of Portuguese decorations; but after 1971 regulation Portuguese military medals lost it and nowadays almost none is award with. So, for Portugal’s Victory Medal a bronze buckle is required according with regulation. After one year, it was decided to issue a small silver star (to be wear on the buckle’s center) to distinguished the combatants from the so-called non-combatants veterans. However, many combatants never applied to receive it, even because it was decided after many people returned to their civilian status. So, there we have it - all Portuguese WW1 Victory medals should have the buckle ... Bill