Verdun Medal. How To Know If It Is Authentic?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 5,293
MINT_MARQ Pillar of the Community United States 1000 Posts	Posted 02/06/2010 10:22 am Good Morning, This medal has been sitting in a box with a bunch of other foreign coins that I picked up as a lot. The lot included some Japanes note from 1916, and some Chinese and Tunisian coins from the 1900-1920 era. But most of it was from the WWII era through the 60s. Is there a way to verify that this is not a replica and is the $15-28 value I see on ebay a good price to sell it at? Report this Post to the Staff

alganbagerap Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2490 Posts	Posted 02/06/2010 11:06 am Without seeing this in hand it's very difficult. I've had the privilege of holding three of these, one awarded to a family member, and none were this colour. Instead, all had a slightly "brassy" look; not at all what you might expect of bronze. Also the file marks and signs of annealing on the obverse worry me. A metallurgist would be able to tell if that colouration were typical of heated & treated bronze. However if it is authentic, then a more realistic price, in Europe at least, would be £35-40. Report this Post to the Staff
TokenDave Valued Member United States 88 Posts	Posted 02/07/2010 10:44 am I have three of these medals -- two are, indeed, "brassy" in color but one looks just like yours (yellow bronze). I suspect the file marks are really the marks of a vice holding the medal as the ring was soldered closed. Your medal appears authentic but it has been damaged a bit. Your proposed price seems reasonble. Report this Post to the Staff
MINT_MARQ Pillar of the Community United States 1000 Posts	Posted 02/07/2010 10:51 am Thanks alganbagerap for the reply. My picture looks a little more chocolate-ly colored than the medal does in hand. Is that the concern in color that you are speaking of? I have been looking at a lot of pictures online and they look very similar. Not sure if you would know the answer to this or not, but were these medals copied for tourist souvenirs? I can not find any "copies" for sale anywhere. Report this Post to the Staff
TokenDave Valued Member United States 88 Posts	Posted 02/07/2010 10:51 am Oops...change that spelling to "vise." Report this Post to the Staff
MINT_MARQ Pillar of the Community United States 1000 Posts	Posted 02/07/2010 10:55 am Thanks TokenDave, I did not want to sell this if there was much doubt to it's authenticity. From what I saw in my research, this metal was given to anyone who served there that wanted one, so a replica seemed unlikely. Report this Post to the Staff
alganbagerap Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2490 Posts	Posted 02/07/2010 11:40 am Yes, it was mainly the colour that gave me reservations but Tokendave reassured me on that. There were replicas issued by towns and associations, but all that I've seen incorporate elements of the medal along with their own rubric, and are in themselves collectable. Oh, and in the UK we're quite happy with "vice". (And you can take that anyway you like) Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 5,293

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