Awarded 1st Byrd Expedition Bronze Medal

[Brian Dentino]

Wow, talk about coming to the party loaded for bear!  Great grouping!  Special, historic, amazing.  Too bad about the re-ribboning but still an amazing group that is very complete.  Well done and look forward to seeing you around here more Mach!

[shortsix]

Great grouping!  Here's an interesting article from the Tampa Tribune - June 16th, 1929 - 

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

Finding a US Mint wrap brooch should not be hard.  Finding an original length of ribbon might be.

 

Kurt

[Brig]

Phenomenal grouping. The medal is nice, but the photo album is the true centerpiece, IMO.

[71Mach]

I thought I would share a really great piece of history, I understand it should have a thread of its own. This medal is owned by the collector I acquired the Byrd Bronze Medal grouping from...a Dewey Medal named to Captain Charles Vernon Gridley commander of the U.S.S Olympia Dewey's Flagship. I'm not sure he would let it go 

yet but he has told me I would have to stand in line. Hope the forum enjoys.

 

[Blacksmith]

Homina, homina, homina...  Gadzooks!  🥴  

 

I've never seen one of these medals before.  Beyond the service and sacrifice they represent, they are pure works of art.

 

Thank you for sharing these truly historic awards.

[aerialbridge]

Man, you're full of fun surprises.  I am aware of the collector who own Sampson's Sampson (as I'm sure others here are), and Dewey's Dewey is in the Navy Museum in DC and then this.   Your Florida collector friend has some amazing things.   This does need its own post for informational purposes, and not as an addendum to an unrelated medal post.   Be glad to start one if you don't care to.   Nice simple title would be    "Olympia Captain Charles V. Gridley's  Dewey Medal".   Of course,  Gridley died weeks after Manila Bay in 1898 and the earliest Deweys were not awarded until Spring 1899, so this went to his family.  Unless your collector friend is related to Gridley,  it's jaw dropping that whoever in the Gridley bloodline last owned Gridley's Dewey "parted with it".   Be great if there were better pix of the rim.  Thanks for sharing. 

 

 

 

[71Mach]

This one is not much better ....i will probably see him tomorrow and get some better pics.

[aerialbridge]

So, this post has taken some very cool excursions ("Fire when ready, Gridley") from the original, about a bronze First Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1928-30) medal,  hand engraved, to one of 9 men who were on a list that was posted showing those qualifying for gold, silver and bronze medals,  bronze being the scarcest.  The list bears some interesting hand notations next to the names the meaning of which are perhaps lost to time.   I'd like to bring the discussion back to that medal.  I'd never seen one before, so seeing the Greason medal, a correct wrap brook, split ring US Mint strike, just like I would expect from 1931, I took the rim engraving at face value to be what it's supposed to be.  But then seeing the machine impressed, named bronze medal to Boehning,  (the second Byrd First Antarctic bronze I've ever seen) with 150% corroborating evidence of authenticity, including original letters from Asst Navy Secty. Jahncke and no less than two signed letters from Admiral Byrd, I'm curious about the corroborating evidence of authenticity for the Greason medal, if the OP is at liberty to share that and the provenance of Greason's medal, which if I inferred correctly, is a stand alone item.    Related to that is whether original 1930's unnamed First Byrd Antarctic bronze medal US Mint strikes exist and if so, how rare are they?

 

Interestingly, the correlation between the 9 men named on the list for bronze medals, and the 12 men, including both Boehning and Greason, who left the expedition early in April 1929 (according to the article I posted because they had "a chance to") is that 7 of those 9 bronze medals on the qualifying list are to the 12 men who left early,  and it might be 8 since the article only mentions 11 men.  And if I had to guess, the 8th is Fritzson or Wallis who are on the bronze medal list.  Two of the men who went back early in April 1929,  Creagh and Roos ended up on the Silver list.  I'm speculating that if it's like the 3rd Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1939 to 41, they got silver medals because they went back to Antarctica at some point and stayed until completion.  One thing that I find curious, is that Greason and Creagh, (apart from other hand notations on the list) each have a handwritten "X" in a circle to the left of their names, the only ones among all men on the list for all three types of medals, whatever that notation meant.   Additionally, Greason has the word "no" written to the right of his name, while Boehing has "no" and a checkmark made to the right of his name on the list.

[71Mach]

Thanks for all the info. Appreciate all the responses.

[71Mach]

Here are the updated photos of the Gridley Medal Grouping I took today while visiting my buddy. Attached pics are the Dewey Medal named to Captain Gridley in original box with original ribbon, Gridley photo when he was a young boy, he is on the left in pic according to my buddy who was told this by the seller which bought these from a Gridley relative. There is a coin made of materials from a Prop. A silver box with Dewey image on it, not sure if its snuff box or card holder??  There is also a commemorative medal with Dewey's image on it as well. My buddy said it took him 10 years to locate and purchase this Dewey medal and photo. The seller had a bunch of militaria, third Reich, US and the Dewey (Gridley) Medal and photograph. My buddy ended up buying all of it to get the Gridley Medal. Great Buy.

[Wharfmaster]

Here is scarce Shellback certificate to a Bronze Medal recipient serving aboard Bear. I wish I had the medal.

Best photo I could get because of glass.

 

W

[aerialbridge]

Referencing post#34 above,  in light of the extensive, irrefutable, corroborating and validating items that accompany the machine impressed First Byrd Antarctic Expedition bronze medal grouping named to Max Boehning,  I'm skeptical about the hand engraved bronze medal ostensibly named to Sydney Greason.  Of course,  I'm open to discussion or explanation for its authenticity, particularly why it would have been  officially hand engraved rather than machine impressed like the Boehning medal.

[71Mach]

I thought I would post an update on my Bronze Byrd Expedition Medal ...I was able to find some original ribbon and a full wrapped broach. I had a buddy re- ribbon it for me. Hope the forum likes...