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Indian Wars No.770 Campaign Medal


Tolzer
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Here is a nice  Indian Wars  No.770 Campaign Medal. Unfortunately it's original owner is unknown as I do not have the roster list.

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Bruce Linz

That medal was issued to Fred W. Foster on 27 November 1908.  He was serving as a Major in the 5th Cavalry when he received the medal.  Very nice medal.

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Frank_Smith

I may be the odd duck here, but the numbering on the medal doesn't look right.  It's too small and too close together.  That looks like the numbering Don Nixon in California was doing many years ago.

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I didn't pay any attention to the numbering...I do believe Frank is correct ...it does not conform to the normal type you see...

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Javelin4life
1 hour ago, Frank_Smith said:

I may be the odd duck here, but the numbering on the medal doesn't look right.  It's too small and too close together.  That looks like the numbering Don Nixon in California was doing many years ago.

I agree with you.  The numbers seem a bit both off center and tilted, and the “o” is also slightly tilted and not properly aligned with the period underneath as like the examples Robert showed. 

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No expert but it looks like there is odd line in front of the 7 s ? Seems each letter and number punched separately? I would think they would have been a process of doing the numbering 

at one time ? Seems Roberts examples all lined up neatly stamped.

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unclegrumpy

I also agree about the numbering.  It is sometimes hard to judge medals from pictures, but to my eye the planchet looks thick and the strike not sharp...making me think this might be a Studley or something similar.  

 

It makes my stomach turn, because like Robert, we would all much prefer to be sharing in the joy of finding something new.

 

 

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Frank_Smith

Tolzer - Was this the IW Medal that came in the auction lot out of Maine with all the Spanish American War medals?  Frank

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MMcollector

A U.S. mint contract Indian Wars medal will have a cut in the bail planchette ring.  I do not see a cut in this ring on top of the numbering being off.  

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And there is no "inner ring" around the perimeter of the planchet.  Should be a "double ring" around the perimeter of an original US Mint strike campaign medal.  One of the first things I always look for when evaluating a campaign medal.  

When I first saw this last night, the numbering actually looked ok to me, while everything else about the medal was wrong (ribbon, broach, weird jump ring, artificial dark toning, etc).

But after seeing the other posts about the numbering, I see the problems there too.

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How do you know that is a “Studley” rather than an official gov’t un-numbered issue?  It looks like a really nice strike.  

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Wharfmaster
6 hours ago, KurtA said:

How do you know that is a “Studley” rather than an official gov’t un-numbered issue?  It looks like a really nice strike.  

 

Thick jump ring.

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8 hours ago, KurtA said:

And there is no "inner ring" around the perimeter of the planchet.  Should be a "double ring" around the perimeter of an original US Mint strike campaign medal.  One of the first things I always look for when evaluating a campaign medal.  

When I first saw this last night, the numbering actually looked ok to me, while everything else about the medal was wrong (ribbon, broach, weird jump ring, artificial dark toning, etc).

But after seeing the other posts about the numbering, I see the problems there too.

Kurt is spot on...I have to remember that my sight worsens as I get older...a quick glance on the cell phone can get me in trouble...need to slow down and really look before pronouncing a opinion. 

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3 hours ago, Wharfmaster said:

 

Thick jump ring.

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Thanks.  Yes.  Very different jump ring.  The planchet looks really good with the "double ring."   What type of brooch does it have?

I'm trying to learn what exactly a "Studley" is, as that term seems to have morphed into the catch-all term used by collectors for any unnumbered campaign medal.  The jump ring difference is good to know.

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Wharfmaster
4 hours ago, KurtA said:

Thanks.  Yes.  Very different jump ring.  The planchet looks really good with the "double ring."   What type of brooch does it have?

I'm trying to learn what exactly a "Studley" is, as that term seems to have morphed into the catch-all term used by collectors for any unnumbered campaign medal.  The jump ring difference is good to know.

Found with a crimp brooch.

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Gerradtgrant

Not to hijack the thread, here is one I picked up in my travels. Found it with the medal only, no ribbon attached to it. It's not numbered. One thing that sticks out to me l, on the back of the medal the circle edge is not even as indicated in my picture. Is this an original medal or a repop? Any help is appreciated. 51986c80ef6b143f4c38eee9ed44ae22.jpg33d178defb5cdef608dbc7a6c4996948.jpg

Sent from my motorola edge plus using Tapatalk

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unclegrumpy

 

6 hours ago, KurtA said:

I'm trying to learn what exactly a "Studley" is, as that term seems to have morphed into the catch-all term used by collectors for any unnumbered campaign medal.  

 

KurtA...I don't agree that any unnumbered campaign medal is automatically termed a Studley.  Below are two links, one that talks about Studley himself, and the second that shows some of his medals.  Of note in the second link is a picture showing the thickness of one of his medals.  Not all Studley medals are that thick, but many are.  

 

Generally speaking, the first issues of the early campaign medals were No #ed...and for the most part are traceable.  The next runs were Mno #ed...and most often are not traceable.  After that, there are many contracts of unnumbered medals that were issued.  There were also medals that could be privately purchased...going back 100 years ago.  Studley falls into that category, selling medals both to veterans and to collectors.  Other manufactures did the same thing.  Then there are medals made in the last 30 or 40 years that were purely made for collectors...some sold cheaply to help collectors fill the holes in their collections and others for high prices to deceive.  The medal in this thread as Frank Smith mentioned, is pretty clearly in the later category.

 

I am not an expert in all of the various later government issued unnumbered contracts, but I agree that Wharf's medal looks more like a medal from the 1950's or 1960's, but it could be a nice quality reproduction as well.  I suspect someone has already broken these contracts down...there are a number of collectors that collect medals by contract.

 

Anyway, below are few links on George Studley and his medals:

 

http://themedalcollector.com/uploads/studley_george_w_Bio_2.pdf

 

https://usmilawards.com/2019/01/10/george-w-studley-medal-ribbon-manufacturer/

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3 hours ago, unclegrumpy said:

 

 

KurtA...I don't agree that any unnumbered campaign medal is automatically termed a Studley.  Below are two links, one that talks about Studley himself, and the second that shows some of his medals.  

My point was, all too often, when a campaign medal is posted that is  other than an No., MNo ,or unprefixed #'d contract medal, it's commonly  labeled a "Studley."   Certainly not all the time, but often enough to where, IMO, it's morphed into a catch-all collector term.  And, often times, repro's are labeled as a "Studley" to generate a higher price without dishonestly claiming it's an original.

So, I was just trying to determine what the exact characteristics of a true "Studley" are.  I don't think anybody actually knows - especially after reading the articles you posted  - even that author was not certain about some of the medals he illustrated. (Thanks for taking the time to post those links - they were interesting)

One possible characteristic of a Studley is the coppery wrap brooch I often times see on "older looking" campaign medals - which does make sense for a pre WW2 manufactured medal

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unclegrumpy

KurtA...I was not trying to start an argument, and do agree terminology can be confusing.

 

I think one of the issues with Studley's medals, is he sold medals that were made differently over the years....fatter ones, coppery ones, chocolatity ones, probably some restrikes, and on it goes...same pretty much goes for his brooches as well.  I don't know that anyone has tried syncing the various medal styles to the dates of his catalogs.  Often, these are tossed into a $5 or $10 box and forgotten about, because most people don't collect or study copies.  I think part of the confusion about Studley's, is the junk boxes they reside in have medals made by other people, but they all get lumped together. 

 

It is actually easier to look at this from the other direction.  Meaning trying to breakdown the various contacts the government purchased and issued over the years.  After the first few contracts, most of them are going to be unnumbered and most are going to made with the same characteristics their contemporaries have.  For example, a contract from the 1950's is going to look much like other government contract medals that were made at the same time.   

 

 

 

 

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MMcollector

The copper full wrap brooch medals with an open catch that are commonly mislabeled as Studleys were made by Northern Stamping in the late 1930’s-1940’s. Most ALL original studley medals have a sewn in brooch with an open catch, similar to the PA-NG Mexico Border & WWI medals. The early quality studley medals are recognizable by their thickness, bail ring size, & ribbon ring thickness. They also have a unique finish. 

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  • 1 year later...

I've been going down certain rabbit holes and saw that this same medal was discussed back in 2010 and folks didn't like it back then either. 

 

 

An interesting connection from the past, I'm curious where it was in those 10 years and where it's landed since...

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