Presidential Medal for Merit

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Hello Collectors! Today I will be comparing the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL FOR MERIT, there were only a few makers of these medals. Below are two beautiful examples, a BB&B/U.S. MINT example is currently for sale on my eBay.

The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States, awarded by the President of the United States to civilians for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services ... since the proclamation of an emergency by the President on September 8, 1939". It was created by Public Law 77-671 and its awarding codified by Executive Order 9286--Medal for Merit on December 24, 1942, later amended and restated by Executive Order 9857A of May 27, 1947. Created during World War II, and awarded to "civilians of the nations prosecuting the war under the joint declaration of the United Nations and of other friendly foreign nations", the medal has not been awarded since 1952.

AVERAGE PRICE:
(FROM MY EXPERIENCES)
The price varies by the condition, and the recipient the medal was awarded to.

AVERAGE - HIGH
$350.00 - $900.00

WORLD WAR II PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL FOR MERIT:

MAKER:
BB&B or US MINT (attempting to confirm)

MARKINGS:
Gold Gilt slotted sewn brooch, large stars with the highest quality enamels, U.V. Negative Ribbon drape, highest quality striking of this medal.

WORLD WAR II PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL FOR MERIT:

MAKER:
V.H. BLACKINTON & CO., INC.

MARKINGS:
Gold Gilt slotted sewn brooch, maker marked: VHB, smaller stars and average quality enamels, U.V. Negative ribbon drape, average quality striking of this medal.

Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_for_Merit

WWII Veteran C.F. Norris

Friday, May 17, 2013

I came into contact with Rick Norris, son of C.F. Norris through a online WW2 flight simulator on the iPhone and iPad. We have been friends for over a year and he recently shared his Dads medals and story with me.

Here's my Dad's service ribbons from being in the Navy -1944-1946 - he was stationed in Saipan , working in the mail room, and driving the General's jeep, on the American side those years, and told me that P-51s and P-38s were landing and flying back out , 24/7, after being re-armed with bullets, rockets , and bombs. ;-D

He's had em in his footlocker for years, had never taken them out of their little  bags, I guess he thought it was time to show em on the wall now. He'll be 87 yrs old on 7/2/13 !! My brother & I ordered his cap online with the ship he served on goin to Saipan. It was originally an Italian luxury liner, lights and ornaments, big ball rooms, and all modified to be a troop & weapons carrier. LST stands for ,"Land / Sea Transport " . It had an anti-aircraft gun under a collapsible building on the front and rear of the ship, just in case of an air attack , and bow doors were installed to open up to pick up and deliver troops, tanks, munitions , K rations and supplies.  That USS ARTEMIS  LST AKA-21 ship  was supposed to go back to Pearl Harbor, and he was supposed to be on it, but last minute plans were made to stay on Saipan a while longer- but it got sunk in the Phillipian Sea by a Japanese sub !! I'm glad he didn't get on that ship !!!

 

CLINTON FOSTER
www.MEDALMULISHA.com

World War II Legion Of Merit Medal

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Hello again! I am very happy to share a few medals from my personal collection and some that are currently for sale on my ebay store. I hope you enjoy my comparison of the 1942-1944 Legion of Merit Medal.

 

AVERAGE PRICE:
(From My Experiences)

The price varies by the condition, the recipient named on the medal or number on the brooch.

$100-$500

Low end being a 1944 LOM - High end being a numbered or named 1942 LOM

INFORMATION:

The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 40, dated August 5, 1942. Executive Order 9260, dated October 29, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the rules for the Legion of Merit and required the President's approval for the award. However, in 1943, at the request of General George C. Marshall, approval authority for U.S. personnel was delegated to the War Department.
The reverse of the medal has the motto taken from the Great Seal of the United States, "ANNUIT COEPTIS" ("He [God] Has Favored Our Undertakings") and the date "MDCCLXXXII" (1782) which is the date of America's first decoration, the Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart. The ribbon design also follows the pattern of the Purple Heart ribbon.

 

MARKINGS: 1942 LEGIONNAIRE

Thick enamel, Gold Gilt Sterling Silver full wrapped brooch numbered, welded medal loop, UV negative ribbon drape. Here is a 1942 Legion of Merit Numbered 14035 to GENERAL JAMES FRANCIS COLLINS.

 

MARKINGS: 1943 LEGIONNAIRE

Thick enamel, Gold Gilt Sterling Silver full wrapped brooch un-numbered, welded medal loop, UV negative ribbon drape.

 

MARKINGS: 1944 LEGIONNAIRE

Thin enamel, slotted sewn brooch, un-numbered, welded medal loop, UV negative ribbon drape.

 

FURTHER READING:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Merit

CLINTON FOSTER
www.MEDALMULISHA.com

1932 Purple Hearts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I am very happy to share a few medals from my personal collection! I hope you enjoy my comparison of the 1932 Army & Navy/USMC Purple Heart Medals.

AVERAGE PRICE:
(In my experiences) Prices vary by condition and the recipient named on the medal.

ARMY PH boxed- $400-$700
NAVY/USMC PH boxed- $400-$1,200
ARMY PH Un-boxed-$200-$450
NAVY/USMC PH Un-boxed-$250-$550

MARKINGS: ARMY 1932 PURPLE HEART:

Type 1a (1932-1940): bronze gilt medal, enamel heart, split wrap brooch,  1 to 5 digits numbered on rim.  Awarded to the recipient by application only, therefore all Army Type I Hearts will be engraved on the reverse with the recipient's name.
-(Purplehearts.net)

Here is a World War 1 awarded 1932 Army Purple Heart Medal #48550 to Wounded Army soldier "LAWRENCE L. BENEDICT".

Casualty Lists from the Philidelphia Inquirer, Sat, Oct. 19, 1918

Returned to Duty, Previously Reported Missing In Action:
"LAWRENCE L. BENEDICT".

MARKINGS: NAVY/USMC 1932 PURPLE HEART:

Type I (1943-1945): sterling silver gilt, plastic heart, split wrap brooch, unnumbered.  Initial production run of 135,000 ordered by the Navy's Bureau of Personnel from the US mint.
-(Purplehearts.net)

Here is a World War 2 Posthumously awarded 1932 Navy/USMC Purple Heart Medal to USMC Private "JOHN W. LAYTON"

John Wesley Layton, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division KIA on Iwo Jima Feb. 20, 1945.

 

FURTHER READING:
Purplehearts.net

CLINTON FOSTER
www.MEDALMULISHA.com
VERIFIED DEALER: UMCC#US103

The World War II Victory Medal

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Today I will be reviewing the World War II Victory Medal, which was only considered the Victory Ribbon prior to 1946. The medal was officially released early 1946 and awarded to all branches of the military for service from 1941-1946. Although the war basically ended in 1945 Truman did not officially end World War II until the last day of 1946. These medals are very easy to find and you will find them in all sorts of condition, from mint to just the medallion with no ribbon or ribbon ring present. In my opinion all WWII medal collectors should a this medal in his or her collection! Here's the best part about this medal... It's usually under $20.00!

AVERAGE PRICE:

Un-boxed- $8-$15
Boxed- $10-$25

Left- 1946 issue
Center- 1947 issue
Right-1970's issue

MARKINGS:

The medal's front depicts Nike standing victorious, holding a broken sword, representing the broken power of the Axis, with one foot upon the helmet of Mars, the Roman god of war, representing the end of the conflict.

This is an example of a first issue 1946 United States Victory Medal, notice the slotted sewn brooch. The initial issue of these medals was on a slotted sewn brooch. So if you see one of these, rest assured it is the earliest type of the Victory medal.

This example is a later 1946-1947 issue, notice the un-marked crimped brooch. These brooches are just a little wider than the 1949 and on US crimp brooch.

Lastly we have here a Vietnam era WWII Victory Medal re-strike, notice the mark L1G1 on the reverse brooch.  Many beginning collectors miss these kind of details. I myself had 12 out of 17 re-strikes when I first started! I had no idea the US Government officially re-struck these medal from the 1970's through current. You can see the detail on these later strikings is terrible compared to the original 1940's counterparts. (Where's the sun-rays?)

 

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_Victory_Medal_(United_States)

CLINTON FOSTER
www.MEDALMULISHA.com