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Military Order of the Serpent Collection


KevinBeyer
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KevinBeyer
1 hour ago, Tolzer said:

This Order of the Serpents was owned by 1st LT. Starkey, 32nd Michigan Infantry.

Bayani Grade Member #1980, HARRY STARKEY, went by the Philippino name "Diego De Loma" and lived in Detroit, Michigan.  That is, according to my M.O.S. Bayani grade member ledger.

Nice, named badge to a member of the Snaix who served the organization on the national level.

Kevin
 

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Thank you Kevin!

Never knew there was an existing member ledger.

What is the Snaix?

I learn something new here every day!

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KevinBeyer
3 minutes ago, Tolzer said:

Never knew there was an existing member ledger.

What is the Snaix?

To the best of my knowledge, there is only one (incomplete) existing ledger for Bayani grade members number 1 - 2023 and it is in my possession.  I estimate that there were on the order of 5000 Bayani grade members in total.  Is there another ledger somewhere?  Possibly, and I would love to own it.

"The Snaix" is a play on words for "The Snakes" and used as a colloquial reference to the Military Order of the Serpent. 

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  • 5 weeks later...
KevinBeyer

I have always wanted a die used for creating M.O.S. or M.O.L. membership badges.  I just obtained one manufactured by the M.C. Lilley company of Ohio to create M.O.S. reunion badges like the one depicted from the 1928 Grand Convocation in Chillicothe, Ohio.

 

 

From The Autry Museum of the American West:

Quote

M.C. Lilley & Co. was founded by Mitchell C. Lilley (1819-1882), a bookbinder and publisher from Columbus, OH. It began producing swords and military regalia in 1865. On Lilley's death in 1882, the firm became known as The M. C. Lilley & Co., and expanded to a complete line of military equipment, swords, uniforms and accessories. The company purchased the Henderson-Ames Company (a merger of the Henderson firm of Kalamazoo, MI, and the Ames Sword Company) and changed its name to The Lilley Co. in 1925. In 1931 it became known as The Lilley-Ames Co. See also: Ames Manufacturing Company or N. P. Ames Company

 

MOS_die_02_750.jpg

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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

Are you referring to the 1928 Supreme Convocation (reunion) badge from Havana, Cuba?

MOS1928Havana_reverse_close_500.jpgMOS1928Havana_reverse_maker_500.jpg

 

These are the best images I could get with my camera.  (This particular example has some lacquer on it.)  At the bottom it says, "MADE / IN / U.S.A." and has a circular symbol.  I cannot make out if it is a Lilley maker's mark.

 

If this does not answer your question, please let me know.

 

Kevin

 

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Sorry about that.  You were most likely referring to the 1928 M.O.S. Grand Convocation in Chillocothe, Ohio.  The badge being made by the Lilley Company, perhaps with the very die I showed above.  The reverse, as shown below, has the following text "THE LILLEY CO. / COLUMBUS, O. "

 

MOS1928Chillicothe_reverse_500.jpg

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  • 5 months later...
KevinBeyer

I have had this Military Order of the Serpent sword for quite some time.  I have had it stored away because it is a little too large to display with my reunion badges.  But, I got it out for a small photo project I was doing, so I thought I would share it with everyone.

 

This is a handmade sword used when the Snaix were in their full costumes as outlined in the Constitution and Bylaws under Part Seven, Article III Costumes, Sec. 2:  "All costumes worn in the Degree Work or in any street parade or gathering of the Military Order of the Serpent, shall be confined strictly to Philippine Native costumes."

 

I don't have a photo of this particular sword being used by one of the MOS Degree Team, or parade participants, but it is not unlike what is depicted in this close-up section of a yardlong photo I own.

 

MOS_WoodenSword.jpg

Figure01.jpg

 

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  • 3 months later...

This is what is most likely the rarest Military Order of the Serpent grouping ever.  It contains the following badges:

 

image001.jpg.a4b78136434850f1d3bcd56441fc2a2b.jpg

 

Khatipunan (1st Degree) membership badge

Past Gu Gu Grandississimo (PGGG) badge with small gold center

Past Gu Gu Grandississimo (PGGG) badge with silver center and Degree of Kaul (2nd Degree) "2" bar

Past Grand Gu Gu Grandississimo (PGGGG) badge with 2 bronze, 4 silver and 3 gold officer bars, and Degree of Kaul (2nd Degree) "2" bar

  •   Local Datto (Senior Vice Commander in Chief, Vice President)
  •   Local GGG (President)
  •   State Zamboango Slave (Aide)
  •   State Thrice Infamous Inferior Gu Gu (Secretary)
  •   State Datto
  •   State GGG
  •   National Zamboango Slave
  •   National Slick and Slimy Keeper of the Ophidian (Council Member, Board of Trustees)
  •   National Datto

Past Supreme Gu Gu Grandississimo (PSGGG) presentation badge which was an honorary badge as the recipient was never a Supreme Gu Gu of the MOS

 

Previously, the most bars I've ever seen on a membership badge was four.  Before that, it was two.  To find a badge with 10 bars is unheard of.

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Dirk said:

Kevin fantastic! Can’t wait for your OMSA article to come out!

My MOS article was published in SEP-OCT 2018.  My Imperial Order of the Dragon article should be published any day now!

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American Heritage

Great thread and the gavel is amazing.  Would like to read your articles.  Anything in those scholarly publications on SUVCW or MOFW?

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A one year digital membership to the Orders and Medals Society of America is only $20.  Once you become a member, you have access to 70+ years of the society's publications. I know there are several articles on the SUVCW.  I think most mentions of the MOFW were in groupings, but I don't recall a dedicated article on them.  As with the Military Order of the Serpent, I wrote a definitive article on Officer Bars and Past President badges because I wanted to share my research with the larger collecting community.  (Hell, my article alone is worth $20! :-) )

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  • 1 month later...

I thought I would share a great pic I found a little while back that shows a U.S.W.V. member wearing a M.O.S. Khatapunan Membership Badge. It's always nice to see them in wear.

382-US USWV Photo w_MOS Khatapunan Membership Badge.jpg

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This week was a incredible week where I was able to complete my MOS membership badge collection with the addition of a PGGGG and PSGGG badge. Special thanks to Kevin Beyer on his help with this! Here is my current MOS Past President badge collection (L-R: PGGG (local), PGGGG (state), and PSGGG (national):

 

IMG_3333.jpg

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These are excellent examples.  I like that the green stripes still have some of their original color.  That is pretty uncommon for these badges.  The PSGGG badge is one of my all time favorite Veterans' Organization badges.  It is rare and so expertly executed in design.  I think it is outstanding!  Good job!

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  • 1 month later...

One thing I have learned over the years is that once MOS ribbon starts to go, it's a losing battle to keep it all together.

 

Nice pieces!

 

Kevin

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  • 7 months later...

"Slick and Slimy Ophidian" ?  Sounds worse than Covid. Will you be vaccinating us against it the OMSA convention? 😏

 

P.S. I checked my MOS items; the regular badges are MIA, but I found the 1937 Columbus, Ohio badge, a superb Mint State one, but I see you already have it. See you in Dallas on Thursday.

Frank D.

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  • 2 months later...

When a new local Lair was formed, a Writ of Dispensation was issued by the Grand Lair to authorize its existence, signed by the Grand Gu Gu Grandississimo and counter signed by the Supreme Gu Gu Grandississimo.  This Writ of Dispensation created Tuguegarao Lair Number Eight in the Barrio of Harrisburg in the Province of Pennsylvania in the IX year of the Sacred Priesthood (1915).

 

MOS_Certificate_02.jpg.30cc58cde8de6754353eb6532c4708e5.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

I recently acquired a piece of M.O.S. paper ephemera.  I did not know that the Serpents produced their own "currency".  Why did they make it?  How much did they make?  All I know is from what I can see on the bill itself.

 

It was apparently issued by Puno Lair No. 3.  Now, is this the same as the Puna Lair No. 3 in San Francisco, Ca, but, with a typo?  I am often surprised at the typos and misspellings on official M.O.S. items produced at the local, state and even national levels.  Did other Lairs produce currency, too?  How many denominations were there?

 

How were these created?  Did a printing company supply the green (front) and orange (back) paper?  Meaning that any organization could create obverse and reverse stamps and apply them to the generic paper stock?

 

So many questions.  

 

MOS_50_Pesos_Note_obverse.jpg.212ab6ecad516f5525db4e2b0a65fbc9.jpg

MOS_50_Pesos_Note_reverse.jpg.c8c8f5cafd767fdf38e5a6ec86d843e7.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sometimes the only thing tha t distinguishes an M.O.S. badge from a U.S.W.V. badge is the ribbon. The suspension bar and the pendant are the same, but either the color, or the lettering, or both are changed to indicate which group is being represented.

 

In this case, the 33rd Annual Encampment held in Wildwood, NJ, in 1931 had the colloquial 'SNAIX' (snakes) printed in black on the all crimson ribbon.  The M.O.S.'s official colors were crimson and jet.

MOS1931WildwoodNJ.jpg.596491b5bdadb251ce42d8dc38be49ac.jpg

 

An interesting feature about this badge is that the suspension bar is not made of metal, but rather celluloid.  It appears to be metal, but it's more like printed plastic.

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