claudio2574

Generic medal to be used, for example, during the visits to the King. There are similar generic medals with the word "al merito" to be used during prize ceremonies

Hello everybody. Here is a picture with a guy with several medals. I know really a few about him. His name is Curtiss (British? USA?), the picture was shot in 1910 in Paris, he was a roller skater. Could anyone identify him and/or the medals? Thanks in advance http://www.faleristica.it/room/curtiss2.jpg

There are so many variants of this cross which are difficult to list all. In all its forms, it is the most common medal in Italy. The most relevant difference between kingdom and republican variants, apart from the VEIII changed in RI, is the front size: for the kingdom crosses the front is the side with the VEIII (Vittorio Emanuele the 3rd), while for the republican ones the front is the one with the star.

There are several versions of this medal. The first two were created in 1876 (more or less) in Naples and Taranto. The first one has a blank back side, but the leaves, while the second has the word TARANTO. Brambilla's book (first part, second edition) has the pictures and the description of both at page 418. Later another similar medal was made, I don't know when and where, with the name of Giuseppe Garibaldi on the back. The last one, as far as I know, is this one. Made in Naples with the same front side of the previous, the back has the years 1870-1920 and was made to celebrate the fifty years since the joining of Rome to Italy (20 sept 1870)

Actually there are two crosses "AL VALORE MILITARE". The first one, instituted in 1942, made of brass, should have a blue/white/blue/white/blue ribbon, with the sword over it. The second one, instituted in 1943, made of war metal (zama), should have the solid blue ribbon, without sword, like the one in picture. In 1941 another cross has been created too, similar to the 1942 model, but with the words "CROCE AL VALORE MILITARE"

This unofficial medal comes for the Swiss canton of Vaud. Not being an Italian official medal there should not be any miniature, neither diploma nor any list of percipients. Usually in these circumstances they were bought by the interested persons, choosing bronze or silver simply depending on the price. I guess that the name of the designer/farm should be on the front size, more or less at hour 7-8. I can't read the on the pictures, anyway

Third ribbon: merit for long command. Can't identify the time also (10, 20 or 30 years)

Second ribbon: cross for long service. Can't identify the time (16, 25 or 40 years)

First ribbon: Ordine della corona d'Italia. Depending on the metal of the crown, the rank could be officer (if silver) or commander (if gold)

Yes, both are referred to WW2 facts Regards Claudio

Pietro Rindone was a Liutenant from Enna (Sicily) who received these awards: Bronze Medal for Bravery, 1940 (for remaining over an enemy fleet 600 Km far away from his base as long as possible to give its location to the bombing planes - 21 jun 1940 western Mediterranean Sea) Bronze Medal for bravery, 1942 War cross for bravery, 1942 War cross for bravery, 1944 Silver medal for bravery, 1946 Silever medal for bravery, 1951

Correct. They means two years in the campaign

When needed, during the Kingdom time, the mark for multiple merit crosses was made with crowns. Now, in the Republic time, for two crosses awarded for the same war you have a silver star

The medal is of the republic period (later than 1946). I see the signs of the naval aviation, but can't identify the medal itself

never seen before

About the cross itself: it is the most common medal in Italy. It was defined in 1918 and there are at least 13 variants. The scarcest has the crowned Z (royal mint) and is really expensive. Among the others, you can see no letter on the front side, or the letters B, F, M, R, J, SJ, FML, H, A, P, FZ. It was weared with the VE III side visible and the star on the back. After the end of the kingdom, the letters RI (Repubblica Italiana) were set in the place of VE III (Vittorio Emanuele 3rd) and the front side become the one with the star. There are some items with the RI over the VE III

About the family name: it is not a different hand, only different writing. Pls take a look to this one, World War 1. The name of this soldier is Giovanni STELLATO, of unknown father ("di N.N."). In this case the soldier was killed in action, so his family got another diploma too.

The name of the grenadier is Andrea Claps, his father is Sebastiano. Claps is the family name, often written with larger characters. For having a cross of such a type there were (and still are) several reasons. One is being wounded, another is being in battle field for 12 months. Can't identify the reason from the diploma only. The signature of Mussolini is a stamp, as always.

For a 'professional' pilot you should expect other medals too, it could be but looks strange

Actually only the second medal is for Air Force. The first one is one of the commemorative medals for the war in Spain (the official model was never defined, so there are a number around). The third is for the war in Albania (again no official model defined, there are three of them). The last is for Spain war volunteers (once more no official model defined, I know at least three of this one too). The second medal is the official one for aeronautic merit, three grades (gold, silver, bronze). It was instituted on 27th nov 1927. The official coin from the Royal Mint is very rare. There are private productions also, far less expensive.

I can't imagine neither where the medal is, nor its value. May be the family has it or somebody of them sold it in the past, who can know. The value for this kind of medal changes depending on the collector, for sure you need at least three zeroes, may be more. A common bronze medal for an Italian (there were about 61000 of them) you can get for at least 250 euros. A gold medal (there were 368 of them) is quite impossible to find, because during the 30's Italy asked people to give gold to the country. A bronze medal ("bronze for gold") was given to the recipients of the gold who participate, most if not all did. The "bronze for gold" worth some 3000 euros. The remaining gold should be no more than a few units, so their value cannot be fixed in any way.

Some more details. The badge was instituted on 21st may 1916, the "Gazzetta Ufficiale" published the Royal Decree on 2nd June. The badges, made of silver, were given for free to the recipients, together with a certificate. I don't have examples of these diplomas. There are several coins from the Zecca, having the years: 1915-16 1915-17 1915-18 (as the one in the first image) no dates The first two are the scarcest.

These badges were used during WW2 also. There were also smaller badges without the name of the mint. Other badges were made after the end of the kingdom, in several sizes, very similar to the original design but the Savoia's coat of arms. R.I. stands for "Repubblica Italiana"

Hello everybody. I'm doing a popup to this topic to show two more classes: the commander collar and the breast star for great officer. The commander collar is from Umberto I years (1878-1900), solid gold, in its case. The star has no marks over it. Since it has lower quality than other stars, it could have been made in the 1940s

some time ago I saw it on the ebay, may be it will appear again