Medals in the raw

[medalnet]

By accident I stumbled over those following two medals. The bronze merit medal of the Bavarian St.Michael Order as well as the Saxon Lifesavingsmedal in silver. Quite neat to see those unfinished pieces. Coined but not cut. Enjoy.

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[medalnet]

...and the reverse.

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[Ed_Haynes]

I would guess that these are mint (manufacturer) specimen strikes of these medals. Specimen strikes are usually done in a harder metal (e.g., bronze rather than silver) to test the dies before commencing production.

[medalnet]

Actually, the LS medal is actual silver the Micheal medal cooper bronze, just like the real thing. I believe these are just unfinished examples.

[Guest Rick Research]

Are there any flaws that would have caused them to be rejected by quality control inspectors? I can't see anything wrong that would have halted production.

[medalnet]

Are there any flaws that would have caused them to be rejected by quality control inspectors? I can't see anything wrong that would have halted production.

Yes, they are actually not exactly centered. Maybe a millimeter of.

[JBFloyd]

I, too, would call them trial strikes.

I cannot imagine that any major mint would strike such medals and then trim the edges to make a completed medal. That would take more time and effort than simply striking them within a collar, which guarantees consistent size and symmetry.

Coming from a coin collecting background, I find these interesting simply because you very rarely ever see them.

[joe campbell]

st michael is bottom-heavy,

lifesaving is top-heavy.

interesting to see these at this stage.

thanks!

joe

[medalnet]

If somebody is interested in them, I just listed them on ebay.

[Stogieman]

The Saxon Lifesaving medal is very hard to find.... but good luck trying to find the correct ribbon!!

[medalnet]

Due to popular demand here the link:

medals in the raw