usmedalman Posted July 25, 2019 Share #1 Posted July 25, 2019 Allen Menke and I are putting the finishing touches on a 30-page article on the Specially Meritorious Medal. Our research has yielded some gems and valuable information from forum members. It has also uncovered some great looking medals. So, I thought I would start a topic to share some of what we have found, and provide a forum for others to share their pieces. By the way, I have not submitted a final draft to the publisher yet, so if you would like to email me high quality jpgs of your medal for possible inclusion in the article I would welcome them until about 20 August. Here are some previews of possibly unseen medals we uncovered: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmedalman Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted July 25, 2019 The Hill piece from the National Maritime Museum in London, England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmedalman Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted July 25, 2019 Rare BB & B strike from their own die. About 1918 this example was on a Liberty Loan display board. Very close to the Mint die but with minor variations in lettering on the inscription band and oak branch. Brooch is close to the Mint type but with completely different pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpmstr Posted July 26, 2019 Share #4 Posted July 26, 2019 That BBB is certainly a unique specimen....I'd be interested to see how this compares to what has been referred to as a 2d die SMM...in terms of finish, detail, and proportion of the details all with respect to the original strikes. And does this fall into the replacement/copy category or is it a variation?? More rhetorical than anything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpmstr Posted July 26, 2019 Share #5 Posted July 26, 2019 Patrick Lynch, my humble offering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpmstr Posted July 26, 2019 Share #6 Posted July 26, 2019 reverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmedalman Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted July 27, 2019 That BBB is certainly a unique specimen....I'd be interested to see how this compares to what has been referred to as a 2d die SMM...in terms of finish, detail, and proportion of the details all with respect to the original strikes. And does this fall into the replacement/copy category or is it a variation?? More rhetorical than anything else I would simply categorize the BB&B piece as an unofficial strike, since BB&B made their own die. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that BB&B made the die for publicity purposes since they were producing the Navy campaign medals at that time. What was commonly referred to as a Type 2 die was probable the die created by J.K. Davidson for George Studley in about 1939. The Davidson die is not as close to the Mint die as the BB&B die, but the type of bronze is much closer and the patina/coloring is nearer to the Mint medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMcollector Posted July 27, 2019 Share #8 Posted July 27, 2019 Here is a Studley piece I picked up a couple years ago. Fine details and I love the color of the metal used to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpmstr Posted July 29, 2019 Share #9 Posted July 29, 2019 The 2d die example that used to be in my collection, since moved on to another collector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javelin4life Posted August 18, 2019 Share #10 Posted August 18, 2019 Beautiful examples! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javelin4life Posted August 18, 2019 Share #11 Posted August 18, 2019 Here’s one that i acquired recently. From both the suspension brooch and comparing with a couple of the examples in here, it would appear this is a BB&B strike, albeit a darker planchet than the one already shown by usmedalman. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javelin4life Posted August 18, 2019 Share #12 Posted August 18, 2019 However, im not 100% sure it is due to a couple of small imperfections; i doubt BB&B would let a product out onto the open without it being near if not 100% flawless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmedalman Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share #13 Posted August 27, 2019 However, im not 100% sure it is due to a couple of small imperfections; i doubt BB&B would let a product out onto the open without it being near if not 100% flawless. The fact that the "S" in SPECIALLY does not clearly break the inside border decoration line is a characteristic of the BB & B piece. I love the patina on your example. The brooch is also identical to the brooch on the BB & B medal I posted. Since these medals don't appear to be part of any government contract I would speculate that the quality control was not at the same level as that of their contract pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javelin4life Posted August 30, 2019 Share #14 Posted August 30, 2019 The fact that the "S" in SPECIALLY does not clearly break the inside border decoration line is a characteristic of the BB & B piece. I love the patina on your example. The brooch is also identical to the brooch on the BB & B medal I posted. Since these medals don't appear to be part of any government contract I would speculate that the quality control was not at the same level as that of their contract pieces. Thank you for your input! This is exciting news as I wasnt 100% sure of its maker origin. In regards to comparison to the Studley variant, is the BB&B strike rarer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted September 1, 2019 Share #15 Posted September 1, 2019 A restrike that I believe is from the 1930's, maybe '20's. Maker unknown to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted September 1, 2019 Share #16 Posted September 1, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted September 1, 2019 Share #17 Posted September 1, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2019 Share #18 Posted September 1, 2019 Here's the one I used to own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2019 Share #19 Posted September 1, 2019 Here's a pic on an angle where you can see the engraving better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2019 Share #20 Posted September 1, 2019 And the front on an angle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2019 Share #21 Posted September 1, 2019 A closeup of the brooch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 1, 2019 Share #22 Posted September 1, 2019 Here's a photo I took of Tony's medal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted September 1, 2019 Share #23 Posted September 1, 2019 Dave, I was wondering where you were on this post. It's one thing to have an authentic, named Specially Meritorious Medal (rare), it's another thing to have a complete medal group (rarer), and another thing for that group to be rim engraved (6th element territory). The Corino group you found at the right time and an incredible price on ebay, is one of the great all time ebay US medal purchases that I'm aware of. And that group could not have been in a better home (or vault! lol) when you bought it two years ago. Sorry to hear that you sold it, but thank you again for giving us all the opportunity to see it here, when you owned it. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/294858-specially-meritorious-service-medal-group/?hl=%2Bspecially+%2Bmeritorious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMcollector Posted September 2, 2019 Share #24 Posted September 2, 2019 Here is another example in my collection: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmedalman Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share #25 Posted October 22, 2019 . Your piece is a Davison die piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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