1900 Military Order of the Dragon medal

[Adam R]

Attached is a photo of the membership badge of the Military Order of the Dragon. It was a society that was formed by US military officers to commemorate their service in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Membership was only open to commissioned officers. Officer of allied nations were also allowed to join.

 

The medal shown below belonged to a British diplomat who was in Peking during the siege. Apparently his rank as a diplomat, as well as his status as a legation defender, was sufficient to allow him membership in the society.

 

The Military Order of the Dragon (MOD) should not be confused with the Imperial Order of the Dragon (IOD). Membership in the MOD was restricted to officers only. The IOD membership was primarily enlisted men, however officers were permitted to join. Membership in both organizations was open to all branches of the service, however membership badges that are attributed to Navy or Marine Corps personnel seem to be quite a bit scarcer than Army ones.

[arclight]

That is a stunning medal! I've never seen one quite like it. I love the detail and engraving, but the "roof" on the broach is the coolest! Too neat!!

Thanks for sharing,

G

 

 

BTW, you really are great at photographing medals!! I need a tutorial.

[collectsmedals]

That is great!

 

I did not even know such an organziation existed.

[Adam R]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I forgot to mention in the original post that the back of the top bar (pagoda) is marked BB&B, for Bailey, Banks and Biddle. They made many of the high quality military and civilian society medals of that era.

 

Also received a lot of positive comments on the photography. It's the result developed over 20 yeas of trial and error (starting in the old days with film).

However someone has recently written a very good book on the subject. It's called "Numismatic Photograpy" by Mark Goodman. It's available on amazon.com for about $20. A lot of it is very technical and pertains only to coins but there's some good basic information as well.

 

Two quick tips that I can give in a short summar; 1. Use a copy stand to hold the camera steady. Second best is a small tripod, but it can be more awkward to use. 2. Shoot in natural sunlight but on a day with an even overcast. Direct sunlight is too harsh.

 

Eventually I'll put together a more detailed post in the "imaging tips" section.

[teufelhunde.ret]

Magnificent medal Adam! Are there rosters of the Officer's who belonged? s/f Darrell

[Adam R]

Magnificent medal Adam! Are there rosters of the Officer's who belonged? s/f Darrell

 

Yes. And you can see it online for free! The following book was published by the society in 1911 and contains a complete roster of all members, both US and foreign.

 

Google books - Military Order of the Dragon

 

 

Here's an enlarged close up of the reverse that shows the quality of the engraving better.

[KevinBeyer]

Adam,

 

This medal is my all time, absolute favorite Veterans' Organization medal. Ever since I started collecting medals, this has been one of two I'd always hoped to attain (a pre-1900s Medal of Honor being the other).

 

Thank you so much for sharing these images along with the information about the Military Order of the Dragon.

 

Kevin

[Dirk]

Fantastic :thumbsup:

[Adam R]

Here's the back of another one with a more simple engraving style. It belonged to a US Army doctor and is engraved "William Figures Lewis No. 124".