Slightly Odd Belgian WW1 Victory Medal

[Bilco]

Hi Gents,

I'm after your opinions of this medal ....

obverse

reverse

It has a small/narrow ball or very thick wire suspension, the 'Paul Dubois' is present but rather indistinct compared to otherOfficial type 1s I have, and the colour has a rather coppery, slightly shiney tone. The planchet edge is clean and smooth; diameter 36mm, 2mm thick.

So, is it an Official Type 1 with an odd suspension, a well-made copy, or something else?

Bill

[VC89]

Personally I would not worry. Belgian medals are usually made by many manufacturers (Fonson, Degreef, Wolfers, ....) and they usually show some small difference (this ball might be one of them). Some of these medals in my collection have a bigger ball suspension than the other ones.

There are some hard to find types of this Belgian medal but I don't see the marks of Alexander Leisek (LA) of Edward Riemer (R) (two Czechoslovakian makers). Does it have a triangle stamp or "Made in France" on de rim?

I can not guarantee that nobody has made fake medals of a Belgiam Victory Medal but since this one is very common in Belgium and can be bought for a price between 5 and 10 euro (with ribbon) I think it must be a big scaled forgery if someone wants to make a lot of money with it. I would choose an other medal to fake

This said James P. Michels Jr. states in his book "Wolrd War I Victory Medals" (expanded edition, 2016) that there is a reproduction of this medal with a "a reddish color, possibly copper." (pg. 180). Unfortunatly he gives no information where he found this information.

Since bronze is an alloy of copper and tin it is possibly that the manufacturer used a little more copper than others, hence the reddisch color (although the color on the pictures looks fine to me). The 36 mm is the right diameter.

 

Vincent

[Bilco]

Many thanks Vincent. It was the different shape of the ball that made me wonder, as well as that coppery tint! There is no stamp on the edge, but also no casting marks or file marks. The medal as a whole looks to be much better quality than the photo in Jim Michels' book.

Bill

[Herman]

Your Belgian VM is 100 % genuine. VC89 (Vincent) explains it perfectly.

 

Regards

Herman 

[Bilco]

Many thanks Herman!

Bill

[macchianera72]

On 9/12/2016 at 20:41, Bilco said:

Hi Gents,

I'm after your opinions of this medal ....

It has a small/narrow ball or very thick wire suspension, the 'Paul Dubois' is present but rather indistinct compared to otherOfficial type 1s I have, and the colour has a rather coppery, slightly shiney tone. The planchet edge is clean and smooth; diameter 36mm, 2mm thick.

So, is it an Official Type 1 with an odd suspension, a well-made copy, or something else?

Bill

Dear Bill,

I have about 40 victory medals of Belgium (official type).
I tried to classify them by types, considering: weight, diameter, thickness, suspension ball, etc ...
Your example is very interesting for me and not common
I have only one medal similar to yours (for suspension device) but mine is not reddish.
However, I think your medal is original, and mine probably is a copy.

weight = 20,1 gr.

diameter = 36,02 mm

thickness = 2,0 mm

ball / thick wire = 4,4 mm (large)

 

[Bilco]

Many thanks macchianera72 - it's always nice to hear that I have a good 'un, even better to hear that it's a bit special!

Bill