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stratasfan
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The Marine Corps Brevet Medal, also known as the Brevet Medal, was a military decoration of the United States Marine Corps; it was created in 1921 as a result of Marine Corps Order Number 26. The decoration was a one-time issuance and retroactively recognized living Marine Corps officers who had received a brevet rank.

 

Brevet promotions were used by the United States military in some capacity from 1775 until they were discontinued in 1900. The Army was the only branch authorized to grant brevets until 1814, when the Marine Corps was granted the same privilege. Over 86 years, the Marine Corps awarded 121 brevet promotions to 100 Marine Corps officers.

 

In 1921, Commandant John A. Lejeune requested that a Marine Corps Brevet Medal be authorized. After it was approved and created, the decoration was given to the last 20 living Marine Corps officers who received brevet promotions.

 

A brevet promotion, or brevet, is the advancement in rank without the advancement in either pay grade or position. Typically, a brevetted officer would be given the insignia of the brevetted rank but not the pay or formal authority. Brevet promotions were originally authorized for the United States Army in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. In 1778, a resolution was passed stating brevets would only be authorized "..to officers in the line or in case of very eminent services...".

 

The Marine Corps would not receive the authorization from Congress for brevet promotions until 1814, stating "... That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet rank on such officers of the Marine Corps as shall distinguish themselves by gallant actions and meritorious conduct or shall have served ten years in any one grade...".

 

In 1870 Congress passed a law stating that no officer could wear, nor be addressed by, their brevet rank making brevet promotions an honorary decoration only. Because of this new law the last nine brevet promotions awarded by the Marine Corps occurred during the Boxer Rebellion.

 

In 1940 the Marine Corps declared the Brevet Medal obsolete; the medal was never issued again. The concept of brevet commissions was phased out of the United States military, and was replaced by temporary and field promotions, which were awarded more frequently than brevet ranks. Award of the medal was approved for twenty-three men, three of whom died before they could receive this award. Of the twenty recipients, three were holders of both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor.

 

MEDAL

The Marine Corps Brevet Medal was considered to be the equivalent of the Navy Cross, although in precedence it ranks just behind the Medal of Honor. Recipients of the medal had received field commissions as Marine Corps officers, under combat conditions, and had performed feats of distinction and gallant service. Initially, the Brevet Medal ranked behind the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

 

The medal was designed by Sergeant Joseph Alfred Burnett and contained a ribbon, in USMC scarlet, closely resembling the blue-and-white starred pattern of the Medal of Honor. No attached devices for the Brevet Medal were authorized.

 

The medal consists of a bronze cross pattée, with the center of each arm extended in a semi-circular shape and in the center of the front is the word "BREVET", encircled by the words "UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS". A small five-pointed star, point-up, is at the bottom center of the circle formed by the inscription and a small Marine Corps insignia (eagle, globe and anchor) attaches the medal to its suspension ring. The back of the medal is plain except for its center, which contains the inscription "FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT" in a circle, and the words "IN PRESENCE OF ENEMY" in the center. The original medals were neither named nor numbered.

 

 

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Im just saying you wouldn't order 23 medals. 25, 50, 100 maybe. I don't know for sure but that medal is the highest quality one i have ever seen, All the issued are accounted for but there could have been more made. just an opinion.

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A large amount of Brevet Medal replicas are extreme high quality and sell for over $100 as just that...quality replicas. I have one in my collection, the detail is phenomenal and is probably like this one. I can't post images at the moment, as I am in the process of moving and my collection has already been boxed up

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Im guessing this is a studly re strike from the 1940s. Have yet to see any other copy's this nice , and they almost always get the ribbon wrong, including the one posted here in 2007.

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This is a Studley piece from years ago. I have an article/ research written by George Harris on these comparing them to the originals, hinge details etc, that I will dig out over the weekend. Very close to the originals in quality and no copy from the past 20 years at least compare to these. I believe they are worth considerably more than $100. These are comparable in quality and rarer the Certificate of Merit pieces from Studley that bring $350 and up. I'll post more this weekend.

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Here's an authentic medal that's part of a well documented group to an officer who received his Brevet for the Spanish American War. I had the opportunity to photograph it many years ago. The group was found at a flea market in San Diego by the late Roger Sullivan.

 

Note the extremely sharp detail, especially in the lettering. Even the old "collector copies" are somewhat soft by comparison. Information on page 47 of Lelle's book implies that Studly may not have started producing his copies until as late as 1962, when significant quantities started appearing on the market. So even those copies are now 55 years old. Plenty of time for them to take on a nice aged appearance.

post-10651-0-30680200-1511459507_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

Im just saying you wouldn't order 23 medals. 25, 50, 100 maybe. I don't know for sure but that medal is the highest quality one i have ever seen, All the issued are accounted for but there could have been more made. just an opinion.

 

We mustn't dismiss empireguns's suggestion out of hand. Of course all the issue ones are accounted for, but it's reasonable to assume that the government did not punch these out on a case by case basis. They don't do that with MOHs, so why this medal. It makes sense that there could be original unissued strikes out there. How can one prove otherwise?

 

Steve

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I would guess that your mini medal was made in a foreign country within the last five years or so. The polyester look of the ribbon and the poor casting quality of the pendant make me think that it was made for collectors to fill gaps in their collections.

 

Allan

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We mustn't dismiss empireguns's suggestion out of hand. Of course all the issue ones are accounted for, but it's reasonable to assume that the government did not punch these out on a case by case basis. They don't do that with MOHs, so why this medal. It makes sense that there could be original unissued strikes out there. How can one prove otherwise?

 

Steve

The medal wasn't put into production until the medal was obsolete and no longer eligible to be awarded...so I would venture that there is a very good chance it was an extremely limited production run to fill current recipients. I would guess the molds were then vaulted and taken back out years later to make a limited amount of replacement medals (maybe by special order) as we have seen one credible example in slot broach

 

For the era, mass production was not a big thing. The Distinguished Marksman Badges were made of over an ounce of gold apiece...I doubt there was a stock of them being churned out, more than likely they made a limited run every year for the matches and then they could be special ordered on request. Even EGA's in the era weren't mass produced...officers had to have their dress emblems hand-made by a jeweler

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I would like opinions on this mini Brevet medal please.

Modern. I owned one about a dozen years ago...bought it from a guy who said it came from a uniform/medal mounting ship near Quantico that had gone out of business not long before...if memory serves it was called Biasey's (spelling probably horribly wrong). My guess, since it was Quantico, is it was probably intended as a souvenier like PX swag and Museum gift shop trinkets

 

Was never able to figure out the number 4 on the bottom

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There might be an interesting answer to the question about the authenticity of this medal. George Studley obtained an unknown but small number of the basic Brevet Medal (just the cross, but without the EGA device). He used them to assemble full medals, using properly woven ribbon and a slightly different EGA. I don't know for sure what kind of pin he used, but I think it was probably the wrap brooch. Please bear in mind that Studley did not actually make medals - he just assembled components he got from legitimate manufacturers (like BB&B).

 

The Brevet crosses he used had not been fully finished, so he most likely had that done by Davidson. So, what are these medals? Clearly, they were not awarded pieces, and their finish is not the same as those that were ordered by (and provided to) the USMC. However, the cross and ribbons are genuine, and these medals are the best a collector can hope to find - and are seldom encountered. This explains why they are substantially better than all the copies that have been available over the years. I don't know what you paid for this medal, but I can assure you that you got a good deal!

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I acquired the Brevet that Mr. Bolinger posted above. Here is a HD photo of the medal. I personally think its a Studley piece. post-134470-0-79939300-1544042334.jpeg

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George Studley did not actually make any medals: he assembled them from components from various sources, including BB&B. I learned years ago from a very reliable source that he managed to get some officially struck but unfinished Brevet Medal bottoms (just the cross, no EGAs). He reportedly had the bottoms finished by J.K. Davidson, and using good Brevet ribbon and other EGAs he assembled the components into complete medals, using wrap brooches (which were commonly available at the time).

 

If all of this is correct, and I believe it is, then the Brevet Medal in this thread is more or less genuine but obviously unawarded. Those early Studley Brevet Medals are seldom encountered and are light years better than the fakes that have been on the market over the years. I don't know what you paid for it, but I can assure you that you got a really good deal!

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George Studley did not actually make any medals: he assembled them from components from various sources, including BB&B. I learned years ago from a very reliable source that he managed to get some officially struck but unfinished Brevet Medal bottoms (just the cross, no EGAs). He reportedly had the bottoms finished by J.K. Davidson, and using good Brevet ribbon and other EGAs he assembled the components into complete medals, using wrap brooches (which were commonly available at the time).

 

If all of this is correct, and I believe it is, then the Brevet Medal in this thread is more or less genuine but obviously unawarded. Those early Studley Brevet Medals are seldom encountered and are light years better than the fakes that have been on the market over the years. I don't know what you paid for it, but I can assure you that you got a really good deal!

Thank you for your comment. I need to remember to say assembled by Studley. I will be forever in debt to Nole for allowing me to add this to my collection. The ribbon is amazing in hand. My only filler at this point, but an acceptable filler.
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