France Siege of Paris 1870/71 Balloonist medal

[arrestanddevelopment]

Hi,

If anyone can add any info to this man i would be pleased to hear from you,obviously he served with the balloon section during the siege of Paris which would make a relatively common medal a rarity.

hope you like

Steve

[arrestanddevelopment]

Hi,

If anyone can add any info to this man i would be pleased to hear from you,obviously he served with the balloon section during the siege of Paris which would make a relatively common medal a rarity.

hope you like

Steve

[Veteran]

Steve

You have here a very interesting medal (incidentally is it silver ? what size ?).

This type of non-weareable medal was in fact used for a very long time as an award to people who raised messenger-pigeons, a favorite hobby in the North of France. But this one is obviously and probably privately named to a sailor member of the balloon crews. These balloons were used to carry mail and few important people out of Paris during the siege; most of them were manned by naval personnel. This man may have served with a ground crew.

The medals I have (3) all bear the same mint-mark (cornocuppia + ARGENT or BRONZE) Which means they were struck after 1879. I show you a silver 50mm diameter one, made up to be worn and privately engraved with a balloon and its name with a surname in gothic lettering. The medal also exists in silver and bronze 62mm diameter.

A second message will show the engraving on this medal.

Yours is a nice piece. More later if I can get hold of a list of pilots.

Cheers

Paul

Edited January 7, 2008 by Veteran

[Veteran]

This is an enlargement of the engraving on my medal. The balloon was the "L?on Gambetta" and the name attached is A. H?mard in gothic lettering. Obviously private issue.

Unfortunately, no way to verify....

Hope you find these comments of interest. One has to rely on one's "feeling" since no official issue was ever made. The medals were struck by the Paris Mint for sale to whoever wanted them. Now engraving was expensive and usually obtained when circumstances made it worth while.

In truth, such medals are to be considered as privately made souvenirs.

The French were touchy about the 1870-71 war. It took over 40 years for surviving veterans to receive a medal...

Cheers

Paul

.

[Vatjan]

Thanks for showing these lovely medals.

A named privately manufactured piece is, in my opinion, more interesting than nameless official issue.

Best regards

Jan

[Veteran]

Hello

I fully agree about named medals, and that is why I bought (quite expensively) the one I just showed. What size and metal is yours ? Does it also have the cornucoppia and metal hallmarks on the edge?

A kick check of the list of pilots of the 66 balloons whch flew out of Paris, none was names Emile Lorrain. Ground crews were certainly navy and a "matelot" = sailor would have been employed there. His name and rank are nevertheless most probably genuine. One would have to know where he was born to obtain his service papers, which makes research on enlisted personnel very awkward. Sorry about that.

This said, I would have bought your medal the minute I saw it. It is the third only I see in over 40 years collectiong quite actively, and the one I showed is the only one I ever personnally came across. They are VERY SCARCE. And, to my knowledge, none were ever officially named.

Congratulations.

Paul

Edited January 7, 2008 by Veteran

[arrestanddevelopment]

Hello again,

yes it is very large 65mm has some indiscriminate makers markings to side and a bronze issue.

I bought this about five years ago for ?150 any idea to present value ????

Of intererst i have to balloon pilot badges,Officer bullion and NCO only used 1871/1912

hope you like !!

cheers

Steve

[Veteran]

Hello

The "marking" you refer to on the edge of the medal is most certainly a cornucoppia, the hallmark of the Paris Mint.

Such named medals are extremely scarce on the market, and I cannot recall seeing one go by. In consequence I could not suggest a possible value for it. You might get what you paid for it or more, depending on the selling conditions. The number of collectors of artefacts of that period is unknown.

But it could also appeal to collectors of Naval or Air forces medals.

Thank you for showing the medal and the badges, which are probably scarce too, since balloonists certainly were not many in those days.

Cheers

Veteran

[arrestanddevelopment]

Hello

The "marking" you refer to on the edge of the medal is most certainly a cornucoppia, the hallmark of the Paris Mint.

Such named medals are extremely scarce on the market, and I cannot recall seeing one go by. In consequence I could not suggest a possible value for it. You might get what you paid for it or more, depending on the selling conditions. The number of collectors of artefacts of that period is unknown.

But it could also appeal to collectors of Naval or Air forces medals.

Thank you for showing the medal and the badges, which are probably scarce too, since balloonists certainly were not many in those days.

Cheers

Veteran

Hello ,

I am selling my Balloon siege medal ,if anyone is interested in purchasing it just PM me.

thanks

steve

[Doc]

Hi,

If anyone can add any info to this man i would be pleased to hear from you,obviously he served with the balloon section during the siege of Paris which would make a relatively common medal a rarity.

hope you like

Steve

Several years ago, I did a study on all the Balloons which left Paris during the siege, including all the balloon names and the names of their pilots/passengers. His name does not appear on the list of those who flew out of Paris, and just as an off-chance I checked the names of the balloons, and none of them were named similarly to his name. Many of the pilots were Matelots (sailors), but other Matelots served on ground crews-- he must be one of them. Sorry not to have more information. Doc