RobW

Hello Timo, The awards of the vic to members of the French Red Cross are not common but they do turn up on occassion. In my mind they are a nice addition to any vic collection. Of note on the Medal Index Card (MIC) the code for the 'Theatre of War first served in' is marked as: 1(a). This is France and Belgium. This would probably indicate she likely served in the large field hospitals in those locations. In addition her date of entry is listed as Oct-18. This, with the struck out mark near 'British' on the medal entitlement indicates that the vic was her sole medal entitlement. It should be also be considered that some nurses serving with the French Red Cross were also awarded the French War Ministry's 'Devouement Epidemies' Medal. It was awarded in either bronze, silver, vermeil (silver gilt or gilt bronze), or gold so some extra research may be in order here. Hope this helps. Regards, Rob

Thanks Veteran for the clarification. Regards, Rob

Hello all, Thanks for the great clarification about these awards. It really helps to find out about these unofficial but tolerated awards. Regards, Rob

Medal of Military Merit 1917, 3rd class, with bronze wreath. Hope it helps. Regards, Rob

Hello Lukasz, Here are a couple of pictures which may help. War Cross 1916-17, 2nd class, with second award silvered star Regards, Rob

And the requesite close-up. Such lovely detail. Hope it helps. Regards, Rob

Hello all, Here is a Redeemer piece that is part of a Balkans War & Great War (WW1) group that I recently obtained. Aside from the enamel chips I think it is a particularly nice order and a great centre-piece of the group as it indicates some form of wear on the part of the recipient. Close-up of the obverse centre to follow. Regards, Rob

Medal of National Merit (13 mm at the widest point)

Medal of Civic Merit (12 mm in diameter)

To one and all, I have recently picked up these two French mini's as part of a larger group and am intrigued by them. Inquiries with the vendor identified them only as: * Medal of Civic Merit * Medal of National Merit French medals are not my area of expertise and after some other inquiries the limited information I have would suggest that both of these awards are possibly unofficial. Other than that I am bereft of detail. Does anyone have any ideas as to the background and award details of these two interesting, possibly unofficial French awards? Any ideas or possibilities would be welcomed. Pics to follow. Regards, Rob

And the date bars in close-up. Note that the order of wear is in reverse to the other example previously posted. Rob

To all, This example was part of a larger group of 4. It is produced in a darker bronze finish, and has the makers name 'Sacchini-Milano' underneath the bust of the King and has a slightly more refined strike. Note the different style of dates on the bars as well as the fixed backstrap. Close-ups of the date bars to follow. Regards, Rob

Hello Brian, Yes it is a nice specimen, and you are correct that it seems to be more difficult to find them with all 4 date bars. I have a few different varieties which I shall post when I find them amongst the clutter of my desk. My records indicate that this medal was produced by up to 6 official manufacturers with another 4 unofficial strikes being observed, included one French production. Regards, Rob

Hello Tim, Yes I have been to that site before. As you have indicated Arthus Bertrand has a number of marks as did the other major French medal manufacturers of the time. I am aware that Chobillon, Delande, and Bertrand all had a number of different marks that were used so that makes the identification all the more problematic yet at the same time all the more fun. Regards, Rob

To all, In both editions of the late Mr Alexander Laslo's book on victory medals 'The Interallied Victory Medals of World War 1 (Ed 1, 1986) (Ed 2, 1992) reference is made to a French reproduction of the Portugal vic. The details provided in those references are: Portugal-Reproduction Type 2 * Has 'BRONZE' and 'MADE IN FRANCE' impressed on the rim. * Unknown diameter. * Attached to a ball suspender. There is no illustration in either book of this variety. The only difference in the listing of this variety between the two editions is that in Edition 1 the item is marked as 'Unconfirmed' whereas in Edition 2 this clarifying remark has been removed. The removal of this clarifying remark could lead me to the conclusion that the reproduction type 2 was unconfirmed at the time of the first Edition being released (1986) but confirmation of the existence of the variety was completed by the time the second Edition was published (1992). In the never-ending research quest I am trying to resolve some of these information gaps and would appreciate any help from the collecting group. My question is: "Has anybody ever seen such a variety, or have an example in their collection?" If any collector has such an example it would be appreciated if you could confirm or clarify the existence of this variety, or post a pic for reference. Regards, Rob

Hey Tim, When this one arrives, could you post a close-up of the possible Arthus Bertrand mark. I am doing some related French mint mark research and it would be helpful to compare the possible differences and similarities. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is a pic of a French produced Belgian vic. The strike is the same as the Belgian produced version with the only readily identifiable difference being the ever so slightly larger ball suspender. It is also generally seen with the French produced vic ribbon which is significantly different to that made in Belgium. In addition to these differences the French reproduction type is clearly marked on the rim with the word 'BRONZE' as well as a triangle shaped mint mark. While the major French medal manufacturers at the time produced strikes of quite a few of the vic series, the Belgian one is not often seen in the first place and is becoming harder to obtain. Regards, Rob

Here are the date bars in close-up. There are numerous different styles to the date bars with slightly different backstraps. Regards, Rob

To all, Here is a nice example of an Italian War Commemorative Medal with all 4 date bars. It is produced in a shiny bronze finish and has the makers mark of 'M. Nelli Inc' of Florence, underneath the bottom of the bust of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Note the safety pin through the top of the ribbon. This was used to secure the medal to the Ministry of War (Army) award certificate. Close-ups of the date bars to follow. Regards, Rob

And here is the close-up of the J+B mint mark. Regards, Rob

Hello Tim, While I can't profer any further information on how to accurately date these awards, here is another version of the Combatant Cross produced by Janvier-Berchot. It seems to be a more defined strike than the previously illustrated example from the Paris Mint and it has the triangle JB mint mark on the reverse of the lower arm. Close-up of the mint mark to follow. Regards, Rob

As an aide to others, and as an addition to Noor's posting, here is another British Great War trio with the prototype vic ribbon. It is in a bit better shape so the colours can be more clearly identified. Regards, Rob

No luck with the OMSA so the search continues... Regards, Rob

Hello Jean-Paul, I hadn't actually noticed the difference in UN ribbon and it is of a different weave than that seen on the corresponding Australian 7 group on the post above (#4). I do agree that it is indeed a fine ribbon bar. As mentioned to Mervyn the ribbon weaving is of a very fine quality and considerably much better than the replacement ribbon that is seen in the market today. Regards, Rob

Hello Mervyn, While there is always a large amount of British items on this forum the Australian and New Zealand items are much more rarely seen. I'm not sure why. I will always try to add such pieces as I come across them to add to the commonwealth flavour. Yes it is indeed a nice set. The original ribbons are of a markedly better weave than the current production and the rosette on the Burma star is silver, hence the nice deep toning to it. I have also seen the reduced miniature ribbons on a similar ribbon bar arrangement but was not able to obtain that piece. I can only imagine what the original medals would sell for in todays market. Regards, Rob