Long Service Medals Anyone?

Love that classic design! Is this for the company's 30th anniversary or for an employee's 30th anniv.?

V.H. Blackinton Co. of Attleboro Falls Mass. famous for their high quality badges 30 and 35 year medals.

Continental Fire Insurance Company 25 Year Service medal. The obverse design portraying a Continental soldier in uniform from the American Revolution between a U.S. shield on the left and a blank shield with a 25 or higher number of years served. These medals come in both 10 and 14k gold. The number 45 is the highest number of years on one of these medals that I know of. Reverses are blank for engraving.

Crane Company Gold Medal

Crane Company was founded by R.T. Crane and should not be confused with the paper maker "Crane and Co. Crane Company started out as an industrial manufacturer of mostly bathroom fixtures which since 1990 is known as the American Standard Co. They issued an impressive 25 year service medal in 14 k gold medal with the founder's portrait suspended on a blue ribbon from a gold brooch starting in 1915. 30 and 35 year gold bars were added on the ribbon as needed. These medals were made by Tiffany and came in a very sturdy case.

Home Insurance Company of New York

25 Years Service Medal
Sterling silver, 72.74 grams.56.9 mm, plain edge stamped with "STERLING" and usually the makers name.
Obverse: company seal. Reverse: multi-line inscription, date and engraved name.

Type I; date (month-day-year) in raised letters and numbers.
Last line of inscription above date is "NEW YORK."
Reported dates; 1909.


Type II; date (month-day-year) in engraved letters and numbers.
Last line of inscription above date is "NEW YORK."
Reported dates; 1923, 1934, 1938,1947.

Type IIA; like type II but encased in heavy glass with a sterling silver band around the
outer edge. The band is marked "STERLING Henry & Co. Inc." The outer
edge of the medal in the glass does not appear to be marked.
Reported dates; 1941.

Type III; date (month-day-year) in engraved letters and numbers.
Last line of inscription above date is "FORMER AFFILIATES."
Reported dates; 1951, 1953.

Type IV; date (month-day-year) in engraved letters and numbers.
Last line of inscription above date is "INSURANCE COMPANY."
Reported dates; 1957.


Generally a die struck coin or medal will have a nice ring depending on size and the metal alloy provided that there are no planchet flaws. Cast pieces do not ring when tapped with a pencil. Type I has a nice ring while the Type II-IV medals do not. Specific gravity tests indicate that the medals are sterling and therefore cast or made using powder metallurgy.

Dow Chemical Company Retirement Medals


The obverse of each medal has a portrait of the company founder Herbert H. Dow above the gold content statement. The oldest version that I have seen is 24k gold and weighs one troy ounce! Later versions like the one illustrated here are only 10k and weigh 19.77grams. The reverses are inscribed with "PRESENTED TO _______ IN RECOGNITION OF ____ YEARS OF SERVICE _____." In the blank spaces are the engraved name, number of years served and date. Since all the medals that I have seen have different numbers of years served I assume that these medals were presented to an employee only once, when they left the company and not on any standard anniversary date.

Nice. Thanks Yarm.