Bilco

Looks good to me. Bill

Liverpool Medals currently have a modern copy of this medal in their list ... The reverse is completely blank - Laslo shows the original was engrailed - with a ring of 95 raised dots around the circumference - with the centre blank. Liverpool Medals are asking £95 if you fancy a punt! Bill

Aaargh! If I'd waited a month ...... Bill

Claudio - have you checked it against the photos on page 2 of this thread. Posts #31 onwards have a lot of stuff about the Siam vic. Bill

Many thanks Lambert & Rob for your confidence-building comments. Given the current exchange rate, this buy is looking even better against the ones I'd been watching priced in dollars!

Well, I've bin an' gorn an' dun it! Liverpool Medals latest list had a Brazil Official Type 2 featured on it so, after careful scrutiny of the photos, I bought it! Here are the photos for you Gents to check over and give your expert opinions: Obverse ... ... and close-up ... ... and reverse ... ... and close-up As far as I can see the medal exhibits the features of the genuine article: it's yellowish tone; obverse has feathers in the wings indistinct, leaves in the wreath flattish with central vein, initials J S at the bottom of the ray at the 7 o'clock; reverse has sharply defined national arms, flat leaves in the wreath, distinct letters especially the G, and the proper diacritical marks on the C and A of Civilisacao. There are traces of guilding around the figure on the obverse. The pin for attachment to the jacket is of a type I haven't seen before. Of course, these medals aren't cheap, but the asking price compared well with other examples I've seen offered recently. I won't have any pennies left in the medal fund for a while. Gentlemen, I await your verdict. Bill

Hi Egorka - I suggest that you PM Forum member JapanX - this is his area of expertese. Bill

Looks good to me. Bill

Hi Bryansk - check out this section of GMIC Lots of photos of the various types of the Greek vic, and plenty of descriptions of the features to look for. Bill

Hi Oliver860, If you look on the reverse, just below the 6 o'clock on the central laurel wreath there is a little triangular space. Can you see any lettering there - either an 'R' or an 'LA' Bill

Hi Laurent, I posted this on the FIM site too - see my post in the Lounge How Archival can you get/ Bill

Well Peter, the lady at the Medal Office in Gloucester is not where the medals are made, while Rachel is at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant. I asked Rachel about the anomaly in her statement that the originals were engraved, and to confirm whether the new medals are impressed or engraved. She said: "You are correct in that the original medals were ‘impressed’ please accept my apologies for the incorrect terminology I used. For modern day medals which we engrave we use a ‘laser tip’ engraver, however to keep to more traditional methods of engraving we currently use a ‘pantograph’ for all WW1 medals." Bill

I asked Rachel, the Medal Account Manager at the Royal Mint, about the naming, and her reply is: "To engrave the recipients details we use one of the old traditional Royal Mint engraving machines which means that we can keep it looking as close to the original engraving font as we can." Bill

Many thanks Gunner 1. I've enjoyed your blogs, thanks. At least we now have the info on who made these medals from the horse's mouth (no slur intended, Rachel!) Bill

I just received the following info about these WW1 medals from Rachel Evans at the Royal Mint: "There is no original medal stock from the period and therefore MOD requires new medals to be produced. Over the century that has elapsed since the cessation of hostilities the MOD has used different manufactures to produce these medals. The current manufacturer of First World War medals is The Royal Mint." Bill

Another Fisch wrapper for the WW1 Victory medal - not mine, sadly ... and a better photo of my Fonson wrapper ... A selection from a web site http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/insignia-flags-regalia/belgian-secret-army-105748/ And another .. http://natedsanders.com/bronze_olympic_medal_from_the_1920_summer_olympics-lot37396.aspx Bill

I have two: A Fonson wrapper for a Interallied Victory Medal. Ch Galere, with an Interallied Victory Medal. Bill

Continuing with my quirky Rumanian mis-strikes - this month's acquisition: It's an unofficial Type 2, but the obverse is very flat - almost no details of the wings, no face for Victory. The reverse view shows that it's canted off to the right by about 10 degrees. Probably by the same maker as the one in my post #195, but that was a double strike - definitely needed better quality control. Bill

A very nice group, Rob. Is it the lighting, or is the Victory medal gilded? Bill

Many thanks, Rob - very nice! Bill

Oh well, if you want it that accurately! 35.5mm diameter and 2.7mm thickness measured at the 5 o'clock. Cordialement, Bill

Hi Jean-Michel, The planchet is 35mm diameter and 3mm thickness. Cordialement, Bill

Welcome Rob, I'm very envious of your Brazilian vic, not to mention the diploma. Please post photos! Bill

Hi Gents, My first purchase of 2016 - the Unofficial Type 2, but without the designers names on obverse and reverse ... It seems to be well made, some slight roughness, and in the hand there appears to be the remains of gilding around the design. There are no marks on the edge. I think this is what French collectors call an 'artisanal' version. Bill

Definitely a 'Bitza'! Bill