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Ref Thread: Puerto Rico Occupation Medal

tarheelyankee

By tarheelyankee,
in REFERENCE (Medals & Decorations)

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stratasfan
Message added by stratasfan,

Established on February 4, 1919, the Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal honors United States military members who carried out occupying service in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Eligible dates are between August 14 and December 10 of 1898.

 

The medal is bronze and features the image of a castle framed by a tobacco plant and sugarcane as well as an inscription reading “ARMY OF OCCUPATION - PUERTO RICO.” The reverse features an eagle grasping weaponry; thirteen stars appear on the lower portion of the medal, and an inscription reading “UNITED STATES ARMY - FOR SERVICE” frames the eagle. The ribbon features a thick vertical red stripe in the center flanked on either side by a thin yellow stripe and a thick blue stripe; it also features red edging.

 

There were approximately 3000 struck. Of those 3000, only the first 320 are traceable.

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tarheelyankee

tarheelyankee

Posted
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Hello all. Here is another Span-Am period US "For Service" medal in my collection. A little scarcer than the War with Spain 1898 medals. This one is for the Army of Occupation of Porto Rico. M.No. 561. Contract US Mint?? BB&B?? Anyone out there familiar with who produced these type medals? :think: Thanks .

post-6897-1275738808.jpg

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tarheelyankee

tarheelyankee

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Kurt,

Almost forgot, another quick question, do you the time frame when these medals were produced? I know that the thick planchet "Studley's" were from the late 40's to 50's.

Thank you again for helping me out with these medals. :thumbsup:

Tom

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FrankEaton01

FrankEaton01

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Nice medal! :thumbsup: The "M.No." Porto Rican Occupation medals were produced by the US Mint in the 1920's. Also, George Studley was selling campaign medals through his catalog at least as early as the 1930's.

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FrankEaton01

FrankEaton01

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What about these medals numbered without a prefix?

G

 

There were at least four different government contracts with private manufacturers to produce numbered Porto Rican Occupation medals without prefixes: Joseph Mayer Co. (1928 and 1933), BB&B (1931), and Northern Smelting and Refining Co. (1937).

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Garth Thompson

Garth Thompson

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The Gleim Medal Letters 1971 - 1997 has, among other great information, tables for determining which medals were done under which contract by dimension, brooch, number range etc. It is published under OMSA Medal Notes No 5. IMHO this is a mandatory reference publication for a serious US medal collector.

Garth

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Javelin4life

Javelin4life

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The Army of Porto Rico medal was struck in response to troops serving in occupied Porto Rico following the Spanish American War. There were approximately 3000 struck. Of those 3000, only the first 320 are traceable. While No. 201-320 had the prefixed number and tall narrow font on the obverse, the first 200 have a distinct square font to the lettering of the obverse, as well as an unprefixed stamped number on the rim. I have included a comparison between the type 3 (M No. instead of No. is the only difference between type 3 and 2, respectively) and type 1 to show the font differences. Due to these criteria, this makes the traceable Porto Rico medal, and especially the type 1, the rarest army campaign medal to obtain.

 

I acquired Lt Edward Slemmons Porto Rico medal back in June. His is the type 1 medal (on the left):

 

414048b0db9fc79d562caf16823601b2.jpg.35e

 

 

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296c8f8e5850d5a977b559b71c048c26.jpg.962

 

 

If you would like to see a thread showing the grouping to Lt. Slemmons, go here: 

 

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/332565-porto-rico-occupation-group-to-lt-edward-slemmonsreunited/

 

 

Detail of the Slemmons PR medal:

 

a73615190a588c02766b55a42dcda5c4.jpg.d15

 

Here is the card for Slemmons' PR medal, showing the number:

 

284373b23af9438b315c37a31beb66f4.jpg.a53

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