Cuba's Congress Merit Medal

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I would like to revive a discussion I've started back in 2009 so, nearly 10 years ago.

Late in 2008, I've bought  a Cuban medal about which, until now, I haven't found any reference.

Below, a picture of the piece. The size is: 83,0 x 54,0 mm.(incl. the suspension loop).

Thank you in advance for any information,

Enzo (E.L.)

[cuba1959]

Hello Enzo, 

i collect Cuba since 20 years and I have never seen this medal before ! It is a great order. 

In any moment the Cuban government created special award for special merit for example for the Cuban general Maceo was created a special and unique gold medal. For some friend of the Cuban nation the government created some special awards. It is probably a special award. 

All the best 

 

Yannick 

/it is also an unknown official badge

Edited April 27, 2019 by cuba1959

[Elmar Lang]

Dear Yannick,

thank you for your kind message with further info/hypotesis about my medal.

Your cuban badge, is also beautiful and surely rare too!

Let's hope that any info about our pieces would arise…

Best,

Enzo (E.L.)

[UnboxingCuba]

This particular design was one of the proposals to the Cuba's Great Friend (Medallas Gran Amigo de Cuba) voted by Congress in 1929 and awarded to Mr. Horatio Rubens, legal counsel for the Revolutionary Party responsible for dragging the country into another civil war which would culminate with the proclamation of the Cuban Republic on May 20, 1902. The second recipient of this medal was Max Enrique Urena, a renowned pedagogue. From the analysis of the archival material, we know that Enriquez Urena received the medal in January of 1935, a few days before his death. Mr. Rubens died in 1941 with two daughters. The two medals had a cost of 3200 francs of the time and were produced by Chobillon. 

The image represents one of the proposals, its contained in the archival file, but was not the finalized el design.

Cuban congress merit

[UnboxingCuba]

For more information regarding this item, please see "Condecoraciones cubanas. Teoria e historia"

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I need to warmly thank the colleague UnboxingCuba for the complete, interesting details about the origins of my cuban medal.

This is one of the great qualities of this fine collectors' forum. I've posted the question many years ago and it just needed some patience until a solution, interesting to all our community, arrived.

Now, this piece has its history and we all know something more about the interesting, complex history of Cuba's honour system.

To complete the panorama of the "Gran Amigo de Cuba" award, do pictures of the definitive design exist - or of the two  actually awarded pieces?

Many thanks again,

Enzo (E.L.)

[Elmar Lang]

Here, the pictures of the obverse and reverse, taken by me today.

The already provided pictures, were still those from the sale's catalogue: