France My French medal collection

[nesredep]

Hello!

Fantastic addition.Thanks for showing. :jumping:

All the best

Nesredep

[Bison]

Finally Nichan Iftikhar (Tunisia) Chevalier 1st Class and Ouissam Alaouite (Marocco) Chevalier

Hello Garth

Thank you for sharing !

Your Ouissam Alaouite is not a Chevalier but an Officier. The rosette on the ribbon is missing.

The Chevalier has no foliage around the star and is full silver.

Like this (first type) :

And an officer (second type) :

Regards

Bison

[Garth Thompson]

Hello Garth

Thank you for sharing !

Your Ouissam Alaouite is not a Chevalier but an Officier. The rosette on the ribbon is missing.

The Chevalier has no foliage around the star and is full silver.

Like this (first type) :

And an officer (second type) :

Regards

Bison

Thanks for the information, Mate.

[Garth Thompson]

Hello Garth

Your close-ups are most useful. They illustrate one of the caracteristics of the french approach to campaign (and other) medals : the Mint has an obligation to keep a supply of such awards during the probable life-time of the men (and women) who have earned them, in order to provide them with official medals at a reasonnable cost.

This leads to occasionnal restrikes which have slight differences with the very first issues. This is particularly obvious with the early IIIrd Republic colonial campaigns : TONKIN, MADAGASCAR, DAHOMEY. The attachment to the medal itself through which the ribbon-ring is linked to it had an oblong shape (the French refer to is as the "olive" attachment). It is quite obvious on the TONKIN and second MADAGASAR medals in your collection.

Later strickings have a round attachment, smaller than the "olive". These are perfectly official issues, simply later one, but still possibly as early as the 1930s. This can be seen on your first MADACASCAR an DAHOMEY medals. I personnally remember buying a series in the early 1960s.

Both types are perfectly legitimate and may have been worn by soldiers and sailors who earned them.

Keep us posted with your collecting

Regards

Paul

Paul,

A similar situatio exists with pre-WW1 US campaign medals, the ones given out for the Civil War throught the Philipine Insurrection except you can tell the differance by the numbering on the medal rim. The first strikes carry a number that reads No.xxxx, these are tracable. The second striking reads MNo.xxxx, which means mint number. The third striking was done under government contract by independant makers, these will have plain munbers with no prefix. The last official strikings were done by the US Mint in the 1950's and are of a high quality and not numbered. Most of what you see on ebay today are done by a company named GRACo and are of a very low quality.

Garth

[Garth Thompson]

Hello Garth

Your close-ups are most useful. They illustrate one of the caracteristics of the french approach to campaign (and other) medals : the Mint has an obligation to keep a supply of such awards during the probable life-time of the men (and women) who have earned them, in order to provide them with official medals at a reasonnable cost.

This leads to occasionnal restrikes which have slight differences with the very first issues. This is particularly obvious with the early IIIrd Republic colonial campaigns : TONKIN, MADAGASCAR, DAHOMEY. The attachment to the medal itself through which the ribbon-ring is linked to it had an oblong shape (the French refer to is as the "olive" attachment). It is quite obvious on the TONKIN and second MADAGASAR medals in your collection.

Later strickings have a round attachment, smaller than the "olive". These are perfectly official issues, simply later one, but still possibly as early as the 1930s. This can be seen on your first MADACASCAR an DAHOMEY medals. I personnally remember buying a series in the early 1960s.

Both types are perfectly legitimate and may have been worn by soldiers and sailors who earned them.

Keep us posted with your collecting

Regards

Paul

Paul,

A similar situation exists with pre-WW1 US campaign medals, the ones given out for the Civil War throught the Philipine Insurrection except you can tell the differance by the numbering on the medal rim. The first strikes carry a number that reads No.xxxx, these are tracable. The second striking reads MNo.xxxx, which means mint number. The third striking was done under government contract by independant makers, these will have plain munbers with no prefix. The last official strikings were done by the US Mint in the 1950's and are of a high quality and not numbered. Most of what you see on ebay today are done by a company named GRACo and are of a very low quality.

Garth

Edited November 2, 2008 by Garth Thompson