France Tonkin medal - Army. Opinions please.

[Dolfek]

Hello everyone,

I´ve been offered this medal for 50 euros, looks good to me, even the ribbon, but I´ve seen it on the web for much, much more money. Is it period original?, and I´m I been offered a great deal?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Dolfek.

Edited September 8, 2011 by Dolfek

[Dolfek]

Reverse.

Edited September 8, 2011 by Dolfek

[Dolfek]

Close up.

[Dolfek]

Another.

[Veteran]

This looks like a very straighforward period Tonkin medal for the Army. The ribbon might also be period, it certainly is not a very modern one.

The price is not this year's bargain but it is quite fair. These medals come up on the french eBay very regularly.

Hope this helps

Veteran

[TacHel]

Looks good to me, and at an extremely nice price!!

[Dolfek]

Thanks very much for your quick replay. I really apprecite it.

Veteran, if I understood right by (very straighforward period), you mean it´s a period medal, and I mean by that, a 1885 issue?

I also found on the web a nice description about the medal and the suspension ring, there it is: "Original strikings have an olive shaped suspension ring fixing , on later issues this is ball shaped. Several private manufacturers also produced this medal these are generally lacking the designer's signature and Monnaie mark."

Once again, thank you very much.

Best regards,

Dolfek.

[Veteran]

Dolfek

For over 150 years French military campaign medals have been manufactured by the French Mint (Administration des Monnaies et Médailles) in order to offer official medals for sale. The Mint has an obligation to have them in stock as a public service, simply because the rule is that if you are entitled to a medal or a decoration you buy one if you want to wear it (or your friends or your commanding officer will buy one for you to be presented). The general idea being that well made badges at reasonnable prices should be available to men who earned the awards as long as they live. You can buy a 1939-1945 croix de guerre to-day at the Mint for about 18 Euro and they should keep them available certainly until 2030. If they run out of stock in the meantime, they will produce new ones which might be recognisable as such. No trouble.

Only a very small number of awards are truly Gorvenment issue and unavailable for purchase.

Therefore by "straightforward period badge" I state a current fact. This medal you have may have been struck and sold in 1885 or ten or twenty years later. It is recognisable as one of the early (i.e. before 1910 probably) strickings. Later strickings can be recognised by various caracteristics, one of them being the ball shaped attachment for the suspension ring.

Private manufacturers have also struck and sold, quite legally, these campaign medals and others. Some of the commercial firms have their own hallmarks which allow collectors to tell.

The Tonkin medal you show is the nicer early type most advanced collectors would rather have. Probably 100 years old or more. But Tonkin medals have been officially produced by the Mint until late in the 1950s.... Those are the ball shaped ring attachment ones

I hope I have clearly answered your question.

Best regards

Veteran

Edited September 8, 2011 by Veteran

[Dolfek]

Thanks very much for your time, and for explaining it so very well.

I´m new to french medals and I´m quite happy to have such medal (advanced collectors) as one of my fisrt purchases.

Thanks a lot.

Best regards,

Dolfek.

[PKeating]

That's a very nice first purchase and at a reasonable price. You weren't scalped. And now for the naval version! Good luck.

[Dolfek]

The navy version! Ahhh, maybe one day....

[Dolfek]

Received it today in the post. The patina looks far nicer in hand. Thanks very to everyone for their help.

Regards,

Dolfek.

[Dolfek]

Here´s another medal with ball type suspension ring, for later manufactured medals.

Regards,

Dolfek.

[Veteran]

Dolfek

You can clearly see the differences between the two strickings, The newer was made by the Paris Mint - it is perfectly official..

Most advanced collectors will prefer the one you first showed, since it would have better chances to have been worn by a soldier who earned it.

Having both types on the same post should prove useful to a number of other collectors.

Regards

Veteran

.