Belgium Belgium - Commemorative Medal of the War 1914-1918

[Carey]

Thanks to you all for your time and effort in responding and posting the pictures.

I thought I had responded to Rob and Hendrick, but in answering Tim, I found my response was still in draft. I must have been interrupted right at the crucial point of submission!

I can confirm that my example definitely has the signature and initials in the right places and therefore does not come from the same die as Rob’s and presumably, then, not from the same manufacturer. At least that is one option ruled out.

I was going to say in my unsubmitted draft that maybe the absence of the signature/initials could be explained if the French did not have the legal right to 'sign' their versions. If that is the case, then a French manufacturer of mine could be ruled out completely. It seems that this absence is also true of the American version, supporting my suggestion.

It’s a common medal, but this doesn’t take away from its varied manufacturing history. In my innocence, I thought they would have been produced in Belgium only. I was particularly surprised to find they were also made in America, as were at least four other medals. It would be interesting to see what the other four looked like – that might answer other questions on this forum.

Thanks again,

Carey.

[Tim B]

Carey,

I'm not sure if any of the foreign awards were actually manufactured in the U.S. or only marketed and sold here.  In the case of Studley, he procured his items from outside sources, some in the U.S., others..?  The French made a lot of awards for other countries as well.

I should add that the catalog page shown above came out of a June '43 Studley catalog however, the catalog appears mostly unchanged from an earlier version with minor changes made to the text and prices.  Here's another page(s) 2-3 and you can compare. 

Tim