Original George Medal?

[RobertE]

I recently picked this pair up and am cautiously optimistic about the find. The George Medal is exceedingly rare to find, and the lack of direct provenance to WWII awardees makes it difficult to ascertain the characteristics of an original piece. At least two wartime production runs from two casting molds, post-war commemorative reunion production pieces, and then pure reproductions produced to feed the collector's market further muddy what's real and what's not.

The Marine Corps museum has a number of these medals and have published on the medal, but looking at their collected pieces one can also find variations and like any museum that accepts donations, it's possible they either have original variations from the wartime production runs or some reproductions may have crept in. Without further adieu, here's my recent acquisition: an Australian-made 1st Marine Division patch and a George Medal.

Attached Files

[RobertE]

There appear to be two types of obverse and reverses on these medals, and two suspension ring mounting angles that are 90 degrees off from one another. Mine has the ring design that requires two suspension loops. I believe the ring orientation is a key feature of one of the two original wartime casting designs and is present in several authoritative publications and direct veteran attributed pieces.

 

 

[RobertE]

My take on why this may be an original wartime medal:
- open mounting ring that faces the viewer when the medal is laid flat, with two suspension rings
- proper bronze-toned base material, which was a wartime (possibly illicit) acquisition by the Australian medal firm
- clear inscription and details on both sides, including the admiral stripes and star on the sleeve
- background fletching visible on both sides, absent on many reproductions. These medals were cast, not die struck, so the mold details should not have deteriorated much in the 50 to several hundred total medals cast between the two molds.
- wartime USMC HBT ribbon, correctly sewn and mounted, with an original WWII Australian medal mount in lieu of the laundry pin called for in the "regulations" for this medal

 

[RobertE]

Ribbon and wartime Australian-made clasp: 

[RobertE]

One of the biggest tells for me is the ring orientation. Of the two original medals I have found with direct provenance, both have the ring cast in the same direction as mine:

The first medal posted below is the George Medal presented to MGEN William H. Rupertus from the family's collection, and the second example belonged to USN Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Farris Franklin Conner, on loan from his widow Mrs. Farris Conner. PH1 Conner's medal is number 12, according to his certificate which would make it one of approximately 50 cast before the first original mold broke.

The ring on both of these attributed, first-run medals is oriented like my posted example. Note the Australian-produced and mounted ribbon mounting device on General Rupertus' medal, which is also identical to mine.

[RobertE]

Here is an original mold for one of the two wartime medal runs, as published in the Marine Corps' Leatherneck magazine. Again, the ring is cast as part of the medal with the "flat" orientation like mine.

[RobertE]

I'm sure most folks reading this post are familiar with this medal, and here's two refreshers to hit some of the background details. One is from the Marine Corps Association, the other the standard Wikipedia schtick.

George Medals USMC: Faciat Georgius | WW2Talk

Faciat Georgius - Wikipedia

I'd welcome comments, positive or negative, on this posting and my medal. To be clear, I believe the ring angle is but one detail and original examples of the medal have the ring in the other orientation as well, but I do believe the first run had the ring set as mine does, based on PH1 Conner's low number medal.

regards, Robert

[swabbie]

There is a whole thread on the George Medal on the Forum.  If you search for it and find it, you will do well.  Quite a few photos if memory serves.

[RobertE]

Thank you, there are a few of them and I have read them.  They are interesting and primarily focused on determining if a new acquisition is original or reproduction, as is the case with my posting.  regards, Robert

[RobertE]

Does anyone with familiar with these medals want to take a stab at the originality of my posted example?

 

regards, Robert 

[KASTAUFFER]

I cant say 100% its real, but I like this one. Of any I have seen this one is a contender.

 

Kurt

[RobertE]

Thank you, Kurt.  I appreciate you weighing in.

 

regards, Robert

[Honcho]

Robert,

thank you so much for sharing this one!

John