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Medal for Merit WW II and beyond


jmar
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Greetings to all!

 

I would like to share some photos with the group of the beautiful Medal for Merit from my collection. First a Blackington boxed example, rimmed marked, clear cut and simple.

 

BUT (and yes that's a big BUT :lol: ) I would like to impose a few questions about two of my other examples of this striking U.S. award.

 

Also I'd like to mention, before I put everyone to sleep with my rambling, that I am a serious buyer for a WW II titled cased example of this medal, either short cased Navy or standard cased Army. So please keep me in mind if you ever have a momentary lapse of reason and wish to sell yours!

 

I'll address the questions as I post, but with no further ado a nice boxed example of an uncommon medal!

 

my best to all,

 

Joe

 

post-48324-1311971115.jpg

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Now here's where it gets tricky! I put to you a Blackington medal, rim marked and basically identical to the boxed example but in an UNTITLED WW II issue case. It came this way, looks un-tampered, has an indentation where the medal has sat for years, early pin-back ribbon bar and lapel device. I have several low numbered Air Medals in untitled cases, so my first question is: does anyone know if this medal was ever issued in an untitled case? It's not too big a stretch that it is legit, but would love to hear from anyone else with such an example.

 

Here are some pics, I didn't scan the medal up close since it's just like the boxed example.

 

post-48324-1311971640.jpg

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One more to go and a few additional questions. This example is, I believe :think: , a 1950's strike? it has the wide, aluminum crimp brooch and excellent detail. In a clear plastic case common to very early 1960's awards. Here are my questions, any help would be greatly appreciated! First: Am I correct with the era? Next, is the case correct, does anyone else have a similar example? Third, does anyone have an idea of the manufacturer, no marks of any kind on the medal or brooch. And finally, does anyone know of other more modern makers of this award, such as HLP, etc...

 

I thank you all for stopping by and reading!

 

post-48324-1311972046.jpg

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jmar,

 

Nice collection. This is one of my favorite US medals. :thumbsup:

 

My understanding is that for a time all (I use that term loosely) other medals were/could be issued in unmarked case. I think it is fair to say this is also reasonable for the Medal for Merit. :think:

 

Good luck on finding the named case, I am on the hunt too!

;)

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jmar,

 

Nice collection. This is one of my favorite US medals. :thumbsup:

 

My understanding is that for a time all (I use that term loosely) other medals were/could be issued in unmarked case. I think it is fair to say this is also reasonable for the Medal for Merit. :think:

 

Good luck on finding the named case, I am on the hunt too!

;)

 

Hi Mark and thank you for your reply and nice comments, it's appreciated! Hopefully I'll be able to fill those gaps with the titled cases, it is indeed a beautiful medal and a personal favorite.

 

Joe

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FrankEaton01

Hi Joe,

 

The Medal for Merit has always been one of my favorites, so thanks for sharing your examples! I've seen a few other ones that came in early WWII untitled presentation cases, so it's certainly possible that some were issued that way. That said, I do not believe the V.H.B. hallmarked medals are WWII vintage. I've heard collectors say the the Blackington marked version is the first issue, but in my opinion that's incorrect for a number of reasons. First, with some exceptions, it was not common for medal manufacturers to hallmark the pendants during WWII. However, it was a common practice starting in the 1950s. Secondly, WWII examples have slightly larger stars and better detail than the Blackington version. Compare to the medal shown below; the difference in detail is especially obvious around the eagle's head and claws. Lastly, the label on the Blackington box shows a 1963 contract date and an "8455..." stock number, which wasn't used until the 1950s.

 

d6ae4f37.jpg

 

5999e36f.jpg

 

 

Here's the case for the medal shown above. There's another WWII case variation where the title is on three lines. Since awards were made by the President to civilians based on recommendations by the Medal for Merit board, I'm not sure if a short Navy-sized case would have been produced.

 

8acc061d.jpg

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Hi Joe,

 

Beautiful awards and outstanding examples! :thumbsup:

 

My thought on the untitled case; as this is a pretty prestigious award and more than likely formally presented, I would imagine the awarding authority or, perhaps the personnel officer at the command, probably has empty generic cases exactly for such formal occasions. I can't fathom a presentation of a high award in anything other than a formal style case, especially for someone that would have been entitled to this award.

 

As far as dating the example in the plastic case; I have seen other medals (Williams & Anderson Air Force Commendation Medal) that were in these type cases and have that same cloth bag. The outside box was dated November 1962.

 

Hope that may be of help. Again, exceptionally nice, congrats!!

 

Tim

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Hi Joe,

 

Beautiful awards and outstanding examples! :thumbsup:

 

My thought on the untitled case; as this is a pretty prestigious award and more than likely formally presented, I would imagine the awarding authority or, perhaps the personnel officer at the command, probably has empty generic cases exactly for such formal occasions. I can't fathom a presentation of a high award in anything other than a formal style case, especially for someone that would have been entitled to this award.

 

As far as dating the example in the plastic case; I have seen other medals (Williams & Anderson Air Force Commendation Medal) that were in these type cases and have that same cloth bag. The outside box was dated November 1962.

 

Hope that may be of help. Again, exceptionally nice, congrats!!

 

Tim

 

 

Hi Tim,

 

Thank you for your insight and reply. Your comments are always helpful and welcome! I appreciate you stopping by and reading my post.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Joe

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Hi Joe,

 

The Medal for Merit has always been one of my favorites, so thanks for sharing your examples! I've seen a few other ones that came in early WWII untitled presentation cases, so it's certainly possible that some were issued that way. That said, I do not believe the V.H.B. hallmarked medals are WWII vintage. I've heard collectors say the the Blackington marked version is the first issue, but in my opinion that's incorrect for a number of reasons. First, with some exceptions, it was not common for medal manufacturers to hallmark the pendants during WWII. However, it was a common practice starting in the 1950s. Secondly, WWII examples have slightly larger stars and better detail than the Blackington version. Compare to the medal shown below; the difference in detail is especially obvious around the eagle's head and claws. Lastly, the label on the Blackington box shows a 1963 contract date and an "8455..." stock number, which wasn't used until the 1950s.

 

d6ae4f37.jpg

 

5999e36f.jpg

Here's the case for the medal shown above. There's another WWII case variation where the title is on three lines. Since awards were made by the President to civilians based on recommendations by the Medal for Merit board, I'm not sure if a short Navy-sized case would have been produced.

 

8acc061d.jpg

 

 

Hello Frank,

 

Thank you VERY much for sharing this info. I've heard about the large star variation, but never knew exactly where to place it in time. Your input about time frames is invaluable to me and to other collectors who are seriously interested in this medal. I do believe I actually saw a short titled Navy case once, but it could be a "senior" moment :)

 

I also appreciate your help in dating the boxed example. I hope this thread is read by other collectors to help them to identify the correct era that each type of medal was issued.

 

Seeing your cased example as well as explanation has really helped! It is BEAUTIFUL. Now I'm really on the hunt!

 

You have my sincerest thanks! :thumbsup:

 

Joe

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Got da Penny

At this years SOS, I was able to inspect a MfM in the clear case that resembles your photo.

upon further inspection the "gold color" was way too "frosted" in appearance for my liking.

 

 

I would definitely ADD more than one to my collection if the opportunity occurs. :thumbsup:

 

You have some really NICE medals. Thanks You for sharing.

 

 

Here are a few pics of mine. ( just the medal ) ... I do have the rosette though.

 

 

 

 

post-633-1311984477.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

post-633-1311984484.jpg

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post-633-1311984611.jpg

post-633-1311984618.jpg

Carey

 

Hi Carey and thank you for adding such great and detailed pics to the thread. It is really evident, and something I did not know, how much more detail is on the reverse of the eagle in the large star variation of this beautiful medal. I really appreciate all of the effort you and the others have taken to answer and educate me.

 

I agree, the later issue in the plastic case is noticeably more frosted that the early large star or Blackington examples. When I picked up my example years ago it wasn't a big investment so I snagged it, glad I did!

 

Now for the BIG question, does anyone know who produced the 1st issue? The U.S. Mint or private contractor?

 

Thanks again!

 

Joe

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"By early September 1943 award recommendations had been approved by the Medal for Merit Board, but there were still no medals. Harvey Bundy looked to the War Department‟s Heraldic Section for an explanation as to the status of the medal. In an effort to explain the production delays the Heraldic Section reported that Bailey, Banks and Biddle had just received the dies and hubs."

 

http://topicsinhistory.com/wp-content/uplo...N-EXPLORING.pdf

post-248-1311989059.jpg

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"By early September 1943 award recommendations had been approved by the Medal for Merit Board, but there were still no medals. Harvey Bundy looked to the War Department‟s Heraldic Section for an explanation as to the status of the medal. In an effort to explain the production delays the Heraldic Section reported that Bailey, Banks and Biddle had just received the dies and hubs."

 

http://topicsinhistory.com/wp-content/uplo...N-EXPLORING.pdf

 

 

USMCR79, Thank you for replying and the awesome link :twothumbup: . I've said it before and will no doubt say it again: this sort of thing is what makes this Forum so great, I asked a few questions and the floodgates open with a WEALTH of info freely shared. Thank you and all of the others who have responded and helped me with a deeper understanding of this award.

 

Best wishes!

 

Joe

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  • 5 years later...

I thought I'd bring this thread back to life with my own contribution to the subject. Here is a Presidential Medal for Merit ribbon made by Wolf Brown:

post-153059-0-86369800-1491273879_thumb.jpg

post-153059-0-42386200-1491273888_thumb.jpg

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Bobertizkewl

Does anybody have a photo of the WW2 black titled case for this medal? I've never seen one anywhere and can't seem to find any photos of one.

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