Belgian Victory Medals

[Guest Darrell]

Obverse:

Edited May 15, 2005 by Darrell

[Guest Darrell]

Reverse:

[RobW]

Here is a Czech-Belgian Victory medal, unofficial type 1

It is produced by Alexander Leisek. It has the original coarse weave Czech ribbon that is commonly found on the Czech produced Belgian victory medals as well as early issues of the official Czech medal before the ribbon was later changed. Of note is the shallow strike of the designers name 'Paul Dubois' on the bottom obverse as well as the 'LA' hallmark inside the wreath held by victory. There is also an 'LA' hallmark just below the central wreath on the reverse. On some examples of the unofficial type 1 the mintmark, especially the reverse one, is quite weak and indistinct. In this instance both hallmarks are strong. Of note is that it is suspended by a small slightly flattened ball.

Close-up pictures of both the obverse and reverse to follow.

Regards,

Rob

Edited July 10, 2009 by RobW

[RobW]

Here is the close-up of the obverse and reverse.

Regards,

Rob

[Kev in Deva]

My Belgian Victory Medals:-

Fronts.

Kevin in Deva

[Kev in Deva]

Rears:-

Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

[Kev in Deva]

Belgium Victory Mini on a bar:-

Size 13.5mm

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[Kev in Deva]

Belgian Victory Mini Rear:-

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[RobW]

To all,

Here is a recent group I obtained, with a nice Belgian vic mini, among others. The Belgian vic mini is 13.5 mm in diameter.

I was interested in the level of detail on the orders, and in particular the enamel work. Due to the limited number of participants the campaign medal for the African Campaign is not often seen.

L-R, Officer of the Order of the Crown, Officer of the Royal Order of the Lion, with palm, War Cross, with palm, Commemorative Medal of the African Campaign, Volunteer Combatants Medal, Belgian Victory Medal, and War Commemorative Medal.

Regards,

Rob

Edited August 22, 2009 by RobW

[RobW]

And the reverses.

Regards,

Rob

[Gldank]

Very nice group!!

[TacHel]

The Order of the Lion?? Please enlighten me... Never heard of it.

[Gldank]

The Order of the Lion was created by King Leopold II, as king of the independent state of Congo, in 9 April 1891. Awarded in five class and three medals: Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Knight, Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and Bronze Medal. Presented for meritorious service to the Belgian colony or its sovereign. The Order's badge has 2 intertwined letters "C" (Congo) between the cross arms and the reverse medallion bears intertwined letters "L" (Leopold) over the letter "S" (Sovereign). The Order's motto, "TRAVAIL ET PROGRES" (Labor and progress) surrounds the obverse central medallion (a gilt lion on blue enamel). The medals of the order were awarded to Non Commissioned Officers (NCO)s and other ranks, to "lower" rank public servants, etc. This order is no longer issued by Belgium. Here is a sample of one from my collection.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Gldank

[TacHel]

Thanks for that info! Beautiful Order... Nicer than other Belgian Orders IMHO.

OK, I'll bite. Why on Earth is there a second palm on a tiny piece of ribbon hanging from the suspension loop?

Edited August 25, 2009 by TacHel

[Gldank]

Thanks for that info! Beautiful Order... Nicer than other Belgian Orders IMHO.

OK, I'll bite. Why on Earth is there a second palm on a tiny piece of ribbon hanging from the suspension loop?

Thank you for the comments. The Belgian Order of the African Star is another beautiful order of the Congo era that is no longer issued. The hanging ribbon you see is a lapel pin ribbon of the order which would normally be worn on the veteran’s jacket lapel. I just hang them from the medal/order suspension loop to keep it with the order.

[speedytop]

Hi,

here is another Order of the Lion, I think, a little bit older:

Uwe

[Gldank]

Hi,

here is another Order of the Lion, I think, a little bit older:

Uwe

Nice order thank you. This is why I collect Belgian orders and medals.

[Tim B]

I never really understood the Lion Order and these are the first ones I've seen with the palm devices. Always thought they were strictly for meritorious services to the Congo and later (for a brief timeframe) incorporated into the Belgian award system overall. Thought the order was more for dignitaries and people involved in making improvements to the Congo; similar to that of the African Star Order. Definately a sharp design!

Back to the victory medals...I especially like that one Rob showed with the Czech style ribbon! Made me go back and dig up my PICS of the only Belgian Victory Medal I have.

Tim

[Tim B]

Definately an eloquent design!

Tim

[JPL]

Here is the close-up of the obverse and reverse.

Regards,

Rob

Hi Rob,

My main interest is in the WW1 Campaign in German East Africa, in which Belgian troops from the Belgian Congo took part. I've always wondered what a group to a Belgian soldier would look like, so thank you for sharing this nice miniature group. I'd be interested in seeing images of any other such groups.

Jean-Paul

[RobW]

Hi Rob,

My main interest is in the WW1 Campaign in German East Africa, in which Belgian troops from the Belgian Congo took part. I've always wondered what a group to a Belgian soldier would look like, so thank you for sharing this nice miniature group. I'd be interested in seeing images of any other such groups.

Jean-Paul

Hello Jean Paul,

No worries, happy to share ! Being an Interallied Victory medal collector that particular Belgian African mini group is probably my nicest victory medal group, aside from a nice Cuban group of 4. The only other Belgian group I have is a full-size group with a War Cross with palm, Yser Medal, Vic, and War Commemorative medal with 4 service bars.

What piqued my curiosity with this particular Belgian African mini group was the fact that it was indeed awarded for service in Africa which further illustrated to me the global impact of the Great War. While a great deal of interest in the Great War has focused on those events that occurred in the France and Belgium areas, some people forget that the Great War was, in effect, fought on a global scale. I recall having a wish list of items that I felt would enhance my victory medal collection and one of those was a nice mini group from somewhere else other than a European battlefield. As luck would have it I managed to obtain this Belgian African mini group shortly thereafter.

I shall post pics of my Belgian full-size medal group when I have the time.

Regards,

Rob

Edited August 27, 2009 by RobW

[RobW]

Back to the victory medals...I especially like that one Rob showed with the Czech style ribbon! Made me go back and dig up my PICS of the only Belgian Victory Medal I have.

Tim

Hello Tim,

Being just a victory medal collector I have a few different Belgian victory medal varieties and sub-varieties. Out of all the victory medals I would say that the Belgian issue is a favourite due to the fineness of the strike and design, but that is just a personal perspective!

What makes it more unique to me is that the design was used as the interim model authorised to be worn by Czechoslovak forces until their own specific model was produced later from 1926 onward, as well as the French produced uniface model and the other French produced version by 'Chobillon' of the late 1920s-1930s. It is particularly interesting that it could be manufactured by at least 5 different firms from at least 3 different countries.

In addition I have also seen a French Great War medal group with a French-Belgian vic uniface model, instead of the official French vic model. I also have a Belgian vic full size in silver with a hallmark on the suspension ring and a mini in silver as well; and within the purely Belgian produced version there are a number of different finishes (dark or lighter bronze or a buffed appearance) that add to the mixture.

When I have time I will post pics of some more different varieties of the Czech-Belgian vics that I have which were produced by Alexander Leisek and Edward Riemer, as well as others.

I hope they will be of use to others.

Regards,

Rob

Edited August 27, 2009 by RobW

[RobW]

To all,

Here is the first of a few pics.

A Belgian vic with 'Mothers Bar'. This is an original bar, noting that the black enamel is flush with the top surface and edge rim of the bar. There is a later contemporary copy of the bar which is slightly longer and wider than the original, and has a wider rim. It does not however have the black enamel centre; it is just a black painted hollowed recess. I have a contemporary copy as well which I shall post a pic of for comparison and reference.

I have finally worked out to use my scanner more effectively which should result in better images.

More to follow.

Regards,

Rob

Edited August 27, 2009 by RobW

[Kev in Deva]

My Belgian Mini Victory & friends, Front.

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

[Kev in Deva]

Rear:-

Kevin in Deva. :beer: