WW1 Victory Medals General Discussion

[RobW]

This thread totally fascinates me. I started it off with an observation as to some different victory medals, only to learn that these were really the tip of a massive iceberg!!!

I guess the variations and images that have been amassed within the thread are already a rather comprehensive reference point to any interested party.

Well done to all those who have contributed and I look forward to learning more about the various Victory medals!

Jim

Hello JimZ,

Glad that you like where the thread has gone. It is much like pulling a thread; you never really know where it will lead to. With the vic series there is always something new to learn.

Regards,

Rob

[Kev in Deva]

Gents, if I may be so bold to add this picture that I came across in here:-

A varying assortment of national awards including Romanian, Polish, Italian, Belgium

but with a US Victory Medal.

The picture had no information whatsoever about who was the owner, but possibly may generate some discussion here.

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[RobW]

Gents, if I may be so bold to add this picture that I came across in here:-

A varying assortment of national awards including Romanian, Polish, Italian, Belgium but with a US Victory Medal.

The picture had no information whatsoever about who was the owner, but possibly may generate some discussion here.

Kevin in Deva.

Hello Kevin,

An interesting group. I recall seeing this same group pictured somewhere else (maybe even on another forum) but the exact location escapes me at the moment. Considering the variety of foreign awards I would be thinking some sort of liaison officer or the like.

Given the pauctiy of contributors to this thread it will indeed be interesting to see what others views are.

Regards,

Rob

Edited February 25, 2011 by RobW

[lambert]

great!

finally the topic of the victory medals is active! is always good to know the news of new collections.

This is my favorite section of this forum.

lambert

Missing 8 to "close" the collection Vic

[JimZ]

great!

finally the topic of the victory medals is active! is always good to know the news of new collections.

This is my favorite section of this forum.

lambert

Missing 8 to "close" the collection Vic

When I started off this thread back in 2007 I had no clue as to what it would become..... Nor did I fully comprehend the sheer volume of material that this humble medal would generate.

With 634 posts and just under 21,000 views, this is one of the most viewed threads on the forum, which shows not only the vast interest in the Victory Medals of the World but that this medal alone is an area of collection all to itself.

Well done to all for your ongoing contributions.

Jim :cheers:

[RobW]

......., which shows not only the vast interest in the Victory Medals of the World but that this medal alone is an area of collection all to itself.

Hello JimZ,

I couldn't agree more with this statement. So much variety to collect and study.

Regards,

Rob

[Herman]

I also have an unofficial Polish VM.

It is marked on the obverse with MK at the 7 o’clock position. At hte same position it is marked Vlaitov on the obverse edge. The reverse is marked with a big Polish eagle. It came without a ribbon, so i added a ribbon from a spare VM from another country.

[Kev in Deva]

I also have an unofficial Polish VM.

It is marked on the obverse with MK at the 7 o’clock position. At hte same position it is marked Vlaitov on the obverse edge. The reverse is marked with a big Polish eagle. It came without a ribbon, so i added a ribbon from a spare VM from another country.

Its a Fantasy piece, there never was an official Polish Inter-Allied Victory Medal, so therefor there can be no unofficial one.

Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

[Herman]

Its a Fantasy piece, there never was an official Polish Inter-Allied Victory Medal, so therefor there can be no unofficial one.

Kevin in Deva.

Kevin, thanks for your honest reply. I know the Polish VM's are fantasy pieces. I just bought one as a reference and i tried to make my VM display as 'complete' as possible. FortunateIy I did not pay that much.

regards, Herman.

[Tim B]

Yes, always nice to see new blood here!

This thread is extensive and, dare I say it, almost too long and diverse. You can search countless pages to find that "one something" you're actually looking for.

I wonder if we would have enough support at this point to separate WW1 Victory Medals into it's own sub-forum? It would certainly make it easier to separate issues like clasps and medal variations, perhaps by country. We could expand it from there.

General concensus?

Tim

[RobW]

This thread is extensive and, dare I say it, almost too long and diverse. You can search countless pages to find that "one something" you're actually looking for.

I wonder if we would have enough support at this point to separate WW1 Victory Medals into it's own sub-forum? It would certainly make it easier to separate issues like clasps and medal variations, perhaps by country. We could expand it from there.

General concensus?

Tim

Hello Tim and others,

As a primary victory medal collector I would agree that having a separate WW1 Victory Medals sub-forum would be a good idea. There could then be individual country threads as well as a general thread. In this fashion all the information about each country and the myriad of sub topics could be contained to that country. This would not only make collection and information recall easier but it would also streamline the posting of new information so that the newer collectors could find what they are looking for without having to wade through pages of posts.

However I don't think it will occur for the same reason that it didn't occur the last time this was suggested. There is simply not enough regular contributors to this specific thread. There appears to be a relatively low number of active and regular contributors (up to 10-15) with a corresponding large number of watchers. With over 21,000 views you would expect a more active contributor rate but this is not the case.

It would take a little bit of reorganisation to move all the existing contributions into country specific threads as well.

If the chairman can be convinced I'd be all for it but then I think in reality, and given many competing priorities, a pinned topic is probably all we are going to achieve. I am happy to be proven wrong.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,

Rob

[Thomas Symmonds]

Hello all -

I have been guilty of being too quiet on this thread. I am a relative newbie to Vic collecting, and as such have found myself absorbing rather than contributing. Applause to Rob, Tim, johnnymac for making this thread a real treasure of information!

Which brings me to my 2 cents worth.

I would like to see the thread stay as it is rather than being split up. As a medal collector I was aware of the various Victory Medal types, but it was only in the reading of this thread that I get to see the real scope of what I am heading into. I really enjoy the way this thread "jumps around". There always seems to be something more around the next corner - it maintains a "wow" factor.

If it is allowed to get streamlined maybe it might get "boring" to new readers ?

Fantastic collection Herman!

Great idea Lambert - lets see that expanded on.

best regards

Thomas

[Tim B]

Hi Tom,

Interesting perspective. I would hope that the general subject area would still hold interest and that "Wow" factor, even if split into different sub-topics.

My thought would be more towards having trains of thought being able to expand on individual topics as they came up, instead of jumping back and forth as it does now. Kind of hard to ask questions on particulars and then have someone else jump in with something heading in a totally different direction. Loses momentum IMO and I know I am guilty of this as much as the next person but we could control the discussions much better if we had different threads within this separate dedicated forum, and still keep the topics alive, though better organized.

My thoughts anyway.

Tim

[Tim B]

"However I don't think it will occur for the same reason that it didn't occur the last time this was suggested. There is simply not enough regular contributors to this specific thread. There appears to be a relatively low number of active and regular contributors (up to 10-15) with a corresponding large number of watchers. With over 21,000 views you would expect a more active contributor rate but this is not the case."

Hi Rob,

Agree, though some may not participate simply because they don't want to trudge through 35 pages looking for a specific item of interest. Can be very time consuming, even using the search function.

Reading various threads on a variety of subjects at different forums, I find that there are always more readers (lurkers ) than members actually posting. I think this is due to some that feel they don't have the requisite knowledge to participate in the discussions or simply are learning and reading. They may have a general interest in the subject, but are not dedicated to "Vic's" per-se. That's okay, and as time as showed me, it all starts with a general interest in something that eventually leads to more down the road.

For what it's worth, I put my plug in the lounge thread on "what you would like to see". Hopefully!

Tim

[lambert]

Hey I found a very good suggestion .. would love to be able to gather all this information into discrete topics. But I believe that now is not feasible:

The way we're such information may be lost?

Lambert

[Tim B]

Hey I found a very good suggestion .. would love to be able to gather all this information into discrete topics. But I believe that now is not feasible:

The way we're such information may be lost?

Lambert

There are ways to incorporate information into new areas on the main forum, happens all the time. As far as splitting up these 35 current pages and putting that into separate topics, I don't see that happening as it would be very time consuming and due to the actual discussion on those pages, would probably be very confusing taking bits and pieces and moving them around.

I would suggest we leave this current thread intact and as future subjects come up, we can cut & paste or simply restate what was previously discussed. Nice thing about that is, some more information has come to light since and opinions have changed on some issues, so it would be more accurate and concise IMO.

The problem with continuing to wait is simple; we had brought this topic up before when we had half the amount of information and pages we have today. By continuing to delay this move, we only compound the issue. Do we wait unitl we have 70 or 100 pages??

Tim

[lambert]

I read the 35 pages no problem.

it was very exciting ..

Well, anyway done from now on. this is a very important topic for the forum, for me, especially ..

Without him I would not be here.

Lambert

Edited May 23, 2011 by lambert

[Tim B]

Well, anyway done from now on. this is a very important topic for the forum, for me, especially ..

Without him I would not be here.

Lambert

EXACTLY MY POINT!!

[Bilco]

Hi Gents - I've just joined this Forum, after finding it in a Google search for WW1 Victory medals.

I've been collecting British military medals for many years, but have recently started to collect the Interallied Victory Medal of WW1. I have been looking to obtain Laslo's book, but Amazon is asking £145 for paperback or £165 hardback, and I'd rather spend the money on medals! So, I want to say that this thread has been a revelation - if you can't get Laslo this must be the place to come to find all the information on these medals gathered together. Many thanks to all who have contributed their knowledge and experience for the benefit of collectors like me.

The thread does take a while to get through, but with so many aspects covered it would be much harder if it was split up to cover each one seperately - IMHO.

I probably won't be a very active contributor, but I'll be checking new posts regularly, and will have the odd question from time to time.

Many thanks,

Bill

[RobW]

Hi Gents - I've just joined this Forum, after finding it in a Google search for WW1 Victory medals.

I probably won't be a very active contributor, but I'll be checking new posts regularly, and will have the odd question from time to time.

Many thanks,

Bill

Hello Bill,
Welcome aboard to the forum.

Regards,
Rob


Edited February 18, 2013 by IrishGunner

[Tim B]

I want to add this and then, pretty much I'm done with the issue unless there is a specific question directly relating to it.

I think there is some confusion here as to what I personally would like this "Victory Medal" thread to become. This is my final recommendation and then I simply can't add anything more:

Forum: Interallied Victory Medals of World War One (or something similar/agreed to)

Sections: Examples only; this would be something we should all agree to.

- General Information: Background info and perhaps a catch all for common type questions/discussions.

- Country Specific: This is where we could separate each country version out. It would allow a much easier search for those interested only in those specific examples and we could even break down the variants further within those areas if desired. An example would be: Italy, type 1, 2, 3, 4… or, official, unofficial, re-strikes, reproductions, etc.

- Battle Clasp Varieties / Other Attachments: This area would cover items like MID’s, Mother bars, the US Campaign/Country and Navy Clasps. This would be a big benefit for those interested specifically on discussing the myriad of clasps, both official and unofficial.

- State, Local & Veteran Organizational Issue Medals: Though there may not be much interest in these by the current members, there are certainly collectors out there that do collect these items and are, in their own right, highly sought after.

- Other Victory Medals / Related Items: We could add an area that could be a catch-all for items like Commemoratives, Anniversary, Fantasy items or whatever else.

Keep in mind, these are only some quick ideas and the best way would be for the current members here to add to this to get what they thought would be of benefit and make this work for us.

I don’t understand the defeatist attitude here, nor the argument against this move when most of you that don’t care to see a change admit in your own comments the current system has flaws, such as the poor search capabilities, or having to read through several pages to get to what you’re looking for. Nick has openly asked in the lounge area what else we would like to see here on the forum, so this is a good opportunity to improve an area, that like others have said, is certainly one of the main reasons you come here.

By separating the various topics under one general forum on Victory Medals, this will make it much easier to find specific information faster and will still allow all members to read just as much information as they do now, it will just be more organized. I think if you think this through, you can see where specific discussions will flow much better. No more discussing a certain topic, or asking a specific question, only to be offset by someone taking that discussion in a completely and unrelated direction. For that, we simply start another topic for discussion.

That's it.

Tim

[Bilco]

I think I had misunderstood the thrust of what might be done to improve the WW1 Victory Medals thread. What you propose seems to be logical and workable. The only problem is who will do the setting up and sorting out of the 680-odd posts!

Hope no-one will mind a newby putting in his opinion.

Bill

Edited February 18, 2013 by IrishGunner

[Tim B]

Hi Bill,

Glad to help on the Vic questions and please understand, that no one person's opinions here weigh more than anyone's else, so happy to have the discussion.

As far as moving the 35 & growing pages, I don't think we should bother. Place it in the general area and leave it. If others want to continue to add to it, so be it. However, once we start with varied and specific thread topics, I think it will become obsolete fast enough and probably serve nothing more as good reading to someone new venturing in.

Nothing to say, many of the topics discussed in this thread won't be revisited and re-discussed, only in more detail and more concisely instead of the constant push/pull in various directions. The intent is to have more organization into how the material is layed out, not to limit it.

Tim

Edited May 26, 2011 by Tim B

[lambert]

I never knew the subject was so complicated until I found this Forum!

Bill

Why this is so cool:

Lambert

[Jim P]

I am having a great weekend, collection wise. Just picked up this ready made collection of WWI victory medals. 10 medals in all, one U.S. with the St. Mihiel, Meuse- Argonne and defense sector bars(which could fall into the 33rd Illinois infantry div, of which I have a helmet also), French, 2 Czeck, Romanian, South African, 2 English, Belgian and Italian. The South African and both English medals are named.

I thought I would add this to this pinned topic that I enjoyed reading so much. If it does not belong here please feel free to move it.

Jim

Edited May 29, 2011 by Jim P