France Medal Commemorative of the Great War

[RobW]

And a close-up of the mark. On closer inspection it is a P - lightning bolt - L.

Regards,

Rob

Edited September 26, 2010 by RobW

[joe campbell]

a very nice tour thru these commemoratives.

thanks for your posts!

joe

[Tim B]

Nice thread Rob!

Made me take mine out and see which maker's I had, and to my surprise...

Tim

Arthus Bertrand:

[Tim B]

Leon Chalin (maybe?):

[Tim B]

And, Paul Leclere!

Was susrprised I had the harder to find pieces and not the typical Monnaie de Paris and Janvier & Berchot examples that are usually more abundant.

Tim

[Tim B]

Recently added another example with the Verdun bar. Marked - Monnaie de Paris.

Tim :cheers:

[Noor]

Hi guys,

First at all thanks Rob for brilliant posts and educational pictures of maker marks, etc!

Here is something with the twist.... posted it up on WAF and OMSA as well.

Here is one puzzle now:

I picked it up mainly because (good price) the clasp and considered to find correct ribbon for that – white with five red stripes, so I can remove the incorrect one. Now I am not so sure and maybe even keep it as it is!

There is now another same medal, with the same incorrect ribbon and clasp on the WAF forum + thank you to Tim, a link to French forum, what shows that this ribbon was actually in use by veterans (third same example in this case)!

User “colo” picture:

Any extra information, thoughts and ideas how to proceed with this medal, would be great!

I presume I better keep the incorrect ribbon and clasp on it. Same medal with the correct ribbon is easy enough to get in the future….. Meantime, it is not correct… because I am not French collector (have just some pits and pieces as a part of my international collection), then this kind a unofficial “mysteries” is not for me as much as proper examples.

Regards,

Timo

[Bilco]

Hi Gents,

I find this topic fascinating! I've just come across this site http://www.medailles1914-1918.fr/france-medaillew.html with some new (to me) variants and descriptions - may be of interest?

Bill

[Bison]

What is interesting about this medal is that the 'Engagé Volontaire' bar is also maker marked. It has the letter 'M' [Monnaie de Paris] on the reverse, so it would appear that the mint marked more than just their medals. I have another commemorative medal in my collection with the 'Engagé Volontaire' bar that has very slight design differences and it does not have the makers mark on the reverse as per this example.

Regards,

Rob

Hi Rob

It is rare to find somebody interested in French punches, it is key for identification!

The "M" is not for Monnaie de Paris but for "metal". The cornucopia in its right is the mark of the Paris Mint.

This letter is only to indicate what kind of metal is used.

We usually find besides the cornucopia :

- a number, 1, 1* or 2 when it is silver (and sometimes a microscopic "A" on the cornucopia itself)

- BR for BRONZE

- BRFL or BRFLO for florentine bronze

- MC or MCHORT for maillechort or argentan or nickel silver

- METAL D or MD or M for other metals

Hope that helps

Regards

Bison

Edited September 24, 2011 by Bison

[Bison]

Hello Bill,

From my perspective, this site is probably the most documented and relevant for French WWI medals, and may be for other countries too.

http://www.medailles1914-1918.fr/medailles1914191.html

Regards

Bison

Edited September 24, 2011 by Bison

[RobW]

Hi Rob

It is rare to find somebody interested in French punches, it is key for identification!

The "M" is not for Monnaie de Paris but for "metal". The cornucopia in its right is the mark of the Paris Mint.

This letter is only to indicate what kind of metal is used.

We usually find besides the cornucopia :

- a number, 1, 1* or 2 when it is silver (and sometimes a microscopic "A" on the cornucopia itself)

- BR for BRONZE

- BRFL or BRFLO for florentine bronze

- MC or MCHORT for maillechort or argentan or nickel silver

- METAL D or MD or M for other metals

Hope that helps

Regards

Bison

Hello Bison,

Thanks for the clarifying detail. I would agree that the study and identification of the different marks on French medals is interesting in itself. So much variety on the rims of these items that are often overlooked.

In my study of victory medals I have often found different marks which then contribute to correctly identifying the manufacturer.

Alas there doesn't appear to be a single reference of these marks; though these forum threads are a good addition for others to contribute and share.

I have another example of the Commemorative Medal of the Great War that is a cast copy. So far it has been tentatively attributed to the M. Delande firm. Time and further research will tell.

Regards,

Rob

[RobW]

To one and all,

Here is another example of a French War Commemorative medal.

In this case it appears that the medal was struck without makers marks on the reverse. The BR mark and cornucopia of the Paris mint are actually stamped into the reverse planchet instead of being part of the design as usually seen. It seems odd that the BR mark and cornucopia are stamped into the planchet.

Has any other French collector seen such a variety?

Regards,
Rob