Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Share Posted 28 May , 2012 I have recently been scanning through the Cigarette Cards showing WW1 Medals added by Lancashire Fusiliers and thought it would be an interesting idea to start a pictorial threads of Great War Medals. To start the ball rolling I have posted some scans of medals from my collection. Here is the British Empire version together with a scan showing the Mention in Despatches Oak leaf and another showing the South African bi lingual reverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 In no particular order Japanese Victory Medal together with a close up of Japanese eye and hook mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 Czechoslavakian Victory Medal worn on the thick weave Czech version of the ribbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 The Romanian Victory Medal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 The United States of America Victory Medal with slip-on clasps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 French Victory Medal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 Unofficial French Victory Medal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 Belgian Victory Medal (an older scan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 28 May , 2012 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2012 That is the last of my scanned Victory Medals. I hope this post is of interest. Sepoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulsterlad2 Posted 28 May , 2012 Share Posted 28 May , 2012 Nice one Sepoy. I don't collect but it's still very interesting to see the different Allied Victory Medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 28 May , 2012 Share Posted 28 May , 2012 I didn't realise the victory medals had common colours. Who decided on them and do they have any particular significance? cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old joe Posted 28 May , 2012 Share Posted 28 May , 2012 I didn't realise the victory medals had common colours. Who decided on them and do they have any particular significance? cheers Martin B The double rainbow colours supposedly represent a new era and the calm after the storm of the war and also to represent the combined colours of all the allied nations. There was a variation of the Victory Medal ribbon which was tested before agreement on the of the joint double rainbow ribbon seen on Victory Medals of all the allies. Is it true that the concept of the interallied Victory Medal was conceived by one of the French commanders, either Foch or Joffre? Regards, Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 28 May , 2012 Share Posted 28 May , 2012 Excellent thread and great photographs, so much better and far more interesting to see the real thing than the artwork on the cigarette cards. Hopefully, other members will also post photographs of their medals. Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prv1971 Posted 3 June , 2012 Share Posted 3 June , 2012 Hello! I have also Italian Victory medal in my collection of Great war medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 4 June , 2012 Share Posted 4 June , 2012 The Type I British Victory Medal issued up to December 1920 and then replaced by the Type II issue that is illustrated in the first post of this thread. The Type I VM was replaced because of the dark 'chocolate' color, the lack of definition in the design due to sand-blasting of the planchet, and the soldered suspension which was easily broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted 4 June , 2012 Share Posted 4 June , 2012 Good series Sepoy. I never realised there were so many different ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 June , 2012 Share Posted 5 June , 2012 Be very careful if you are purchasing these medals, all of the allied medals have been reproduced to a high standard, although there is a poor copy of a Siam example being offered on ebay at the moment for 245 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 5 June , 2012 Author Share Posted 5 June , 2012 Thank you for adding to this topic. Auchonvillierssomme is correct in stating that some of the Allied Victory Medals have been reproduced to a high standard and I make certain that my rarer examples have been acquired through reputable dealers or auction houses. It should also be noted that there were also a wide number of unofficial versions produced which make this an interesting area. Unfortunately, Victory Medals awarded by Siam, Cuba, and Brazil are financially beyond my pocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 6 June , 2012 Share Posted 6 June , 2012 Sorry Sepoy I wasn't commenting on the originality of your examples. More the ones you have mentioned, I believe there were only 1500 issued for Siam so not very likely that one will turn up in a bargain box, surprisingly a Japanese example did but they aren't as rare as people may think. My collection went the same way as my 3rd Reich collection when the copies became perfect. They have always been relatively expensive, 25 years ago i paid around 200 quid for a Brazilian example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
servicepub Posted 6 June , 2012 Share Posted 6 June , 2012 I believe that this photo of a US Army nurse shows the early style of Victory ribbonwhich consisted of a number of solid bars of different colours. I have not been able to identify the second ribbon. The medal is the US Red Cross medal for overseas service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepoy Posted 6 June , 2012 Author Share Posted 6 June , 2012 Nice photograph. I have attached a scan of a British ribbon bar including the 1914 (14-15) Star; British War Medal and early version of the Victory Medal ribbon - it was made up of the colours of the Allies. I have posted this photograph before but cannot find the original topic. There was a suggestion made that these bars were made for the 1919 Armistice in London, prior to the final discision on the Victory Medal Ribbon. Sepoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragyn Posted 5 July , 2012 Share Posted 5 July , 2012 I have attached a scan of a British ribbon bar including the 1914 (14-15) Star; British War Medal and early version of the Victory Medal ribbon - it was made up of the colours of the Allies. I have posted this photograph before but cannot find the original topic. There was a suggestion made that these bars were made for the 1919 Armistice in London, prior to the final discision on the Victory Medal Ribbon. I have another version of an early ribbon for the Victory Medal, believe this one was very short lived, and only used in a few states in the US, and only on ribbon bars. The Victory ribbon is on the left with the Veterans of Foriegn Wars ribbon on the right. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchener's Bugle Posted 22 August , 2012 Share Posted 22 August , 2012 Really Great quality close-up photo's Sepoy thanks for posting. To the besty of my knowledge it was French Marshal Ferdinand Foch who came up with the idea of a "common" victory medal design for the allied participants. I agree that some of the rarest medals are generally impossible to find now and are basically museum pieces. Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Union of South Africa and the USA all had this medal but for Brazil and Siam they only struck about 2,500 & 1,500 respectively. The medal itself is not difficult to forge. The most interesting example is the American one - although they only came in at the back end of the war they still managed to create 13 different battle bars for the land campaigns. (Some of these are now rare). A full selection where also created for the Navy plus bars for no-operation combat for both Services. Unfortunately like most foreign awards these are not named!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 22 August , 2012 Share Posted 22 August , 2012 Heres one with 19 bars. I believe 6 bars was the maximum possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchener's Bugle Posted 22 August , 2012 Share Posted 22 August , 2012 I suspect that that is a museum example as clearly those bars could of not been earned or the medal worn. As that stands I suspect the value of that medal would be in the thousands just for the rarer bars. Wish I had it!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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