Tim B

Veteran,

Many thanks and good to know. I'll have to loop these to see IF I can make anything out; you're right, they are really small marks and in the case of the Officer above, the diamond stamp is not that clear either.

Tim

I think what is interesting here is the slightly different representation of countries when compared to those we normally see shown on the victory medals of the same war.

Looking at the countries shown (left to right): United States; Japan; Portugal; Belgium (I believe); United Kingdom; France; Greece; Serbia; and Romania.

The lion is slightly off in the details on the Belgian lion coat of arms, but there were different variations at the time and the Greek shield could also pass for the Italian coat of arms, but the details on the flag (obverse) show the Greek flag. You can't see it too well in the PICS, but in hand you can see it is not a tri-color type of flag.

Tim

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Here's another nice design for a war commemorative. Has the flags of the allied nations on the front and the coat of arm shields on the reverse. MB Ld (Mint, Birmingham). Enjoy!

Tim

Hello Veteran!

Many thanks!! Yes, I was reading one of the old threads and I think it was Eric that mentioned the "boars head" that was signifying silver content, just wasn't sure if this was the same mark or not.

Concerning the makers mark, poin?on de ma?trise, was it common for their wares to show up in cases by Louis & Georges Aucoc of Paris? I ask as I have two Knights Class awards with the same diamond stamp and both cases, though slightly different, are from Aucoc.

Thanks again!

Tim

I forget who the maker is but it has the diamond on the left suspension arm under the leaves and above the star and I need to confirm that the mark on the bottom (where the wreath ties together) is the "boar head"?

Thanks and enjoy! :cheers:

Reverse:

Gold center is a little brighter than the PICS show. Some minor enamel damage but overall still in pretty good shape.

Thought I would post a couple of PICS of one of my 3rd Republic Legion of Honors; this one is an Officer Class, not as nice as the luxury model I was asking about above, but still pretty nice IMO. Appears to be missing the parade bar.

Tim

Mint marked and "BR" for bronze on the lower arm. Enjoy!

Thanks again for all the help and excellent information!

Tim

And the Croix Du Combattant which is fairly scarce.

I understand this is what is referred to as the "official" type with the smaller date and narrower annulus.

Playing...

Croix de Guerre:

Thought I would finally sit down and photograph a couple of the French medals I had so I can contribute a bit more than just asking questions.

Here are two Vichy medals; the 1939-40 Croix De Guerre w/palm and star and the Vichy Croix Du Combattant. I had to darken it a bit to show the light blue or the ribbon would like a black/white ribbon. Enjoy!

Tim

Prosper,

Many thanks for an always very informative and enlightening read! Spectacular collection!

I have the type of cross on the left (both regular Republican 1939 and Vichy 1939-1940) and wasn't sure of the style on the right, but do see them on regular Croix De Guerre and wanted to ask. Many thanks for this infomation.

Tim

Beautiful badge Paul! Really a sharp looking design

Tim

Okay, many thanks you two! I am really trying to get this one down before spending money on awards that I later don't really want to collect, so my sincere gratitude in any assistance. Appears this is a bigger minefield than I first realized.

So, I am looking at an officer grade Leopold II with palm, and I take it as an award issued to a civilian during a wartime period, but not necessarily directly related to combat?

Tim

Hi Uwe!

Yes, good examples as to answering some of my questions.

First, according to Hendrik's earlier post, should the Leopold II have crossed swords under the crown? I thought as there were not military divisions assigned to this award, the swords only applied to the Leopold I orders?? (see post # 18 reply)

Second, and to my more recent question; on your example without the swords, what would the palm signify? A heroic or meritorious act by a civilian in war or hostile environment?

Good examples and thank you for sharing!

Tim

Beautiful examples!

I take it the palm on the Leopold II denoted being mentioned in a dispatch, similar to the French awards?

Would you ever see just a palm on one of these awards (without swords)?

Tim

Holy Sh1t!

Well, I guess I shouldn't worry about which one came first. Kind of reminds me of the issue with Turkish War Medals, so many different makers, where do you start.

Beautiful collection. Thank you,

Tim :beer:

Yes, my heart was always with the German pieces, but prices are just too insane and some of these French ones can get addicting as well.

Okay, many thanks and I'll check this site out!

Thank you!!

Tim

Hendrik,

Okay, thank you for that and hope others will comment and maybe show their pieces as well.

Tim

As for the Leopold II's, I wasn't sure of the swords attached to the medals and not having a "military division" is new information for me, so I really learned something new here!

Again, the swords on the left appear to be of correct style for WWI and on the earlier unilingual medal, but as they are upside down, I still suspect added after the fact to embelish the piece and command higher prices.

The later bilingual medal has a different style sword attachment. Could these possibly represent some period later? I am not sure of the sword style here.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if this was a Korean War era piece, then the ribbon would have the "Corea" bar?

Thanks again!

Tim

Hendrik,

Many thanks for that and I must be learning something as I suspected the Leopold I with the swords on the ribbon was not correct and probably had swords added to embelish it. The swords do look like the correct type but as I thought after looking through your site, the device was misplaced on a civil award and incorrectly placed upside down. So,

The Leopold I on the left appears to be a nice original to me, my question on that one was: should the ribbon also have the swords considering this is a military division award? OR, do these swords only represent WWI; so then this medal is post WWI?

Tim

Hi Keven!

Yes, I have read all the threads here (at least I think I have) and seen this one. It's a few years old already and I thought there may be more information by now. You always seem to find one tidbit of information here and there about one of them, but I can't seem to find anything substantial on the "lot" or what was changed and when/why. I've heard the star (center PIC above) is more scarce, but with so many apparent variations, scarce to what? And, have these been restruck as so many other medals have? IF so, can you tell the differences between period and post war versions?

Lots of questions and thought it would be good to restart the topic. See who is interested at least.

Thanks!

Tim