I Guess I Took The Easy Road First ..

Do you remember my post from a few weeks ago, about some medals I was given from my mother-in-law? Well, if you don't, I'll give you a quick recap. She was wondering if I could sell a few medals for her or at least find a new home for them. I decided to find a new home for them and keep them for ourselves. They were from a long lost relative and I thought that they should stay in the family, be preserved, displayed, and one day handed down to our nieces and nephew.

They were just too cool to sell or give away. I couldn't let that happen. To fully disclose the truth.. I also had the burning desire to learn more about each and every one of these medals. It's NOT a light task at all, given they are over 100 years old now, the individual who originally owned and won them is now deceased, and the medals themselves contain limited information. But I am willing to give it a try in the name of preservation!

So About That Easy Road I Mentioned ..

The "EASY ROAD", in this instance, is picking the medal with the most information stamped upon it.. PRESENTED BY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY TO ITS CITIZENS WHO SERVED IN THE WORLD WAR". How much easier can it get than that?! I think I don't have to dig all that far to figure this one out.

It's called the WWI AEF New Jersey State Service Medal. The scene on the front of the medal is really quite cool and also very detailed. On the front of the bronze medal there is a depiction of a battle scene, incorporating all branches of the service; Land, Sea and Air.

As described by the New Jersey Historical Society.. "The New Jersey State Service Medal depicts Columbia leading the war, with soldiers advancing by land, bi-planes of the Air Service overhead, and a battleships off shore on the horizon." At the very top of the design, is the single word 'VICTORY'. At the bottom you will find the years 1917 and 1918. The most unique part, besides the incorporation of all the branches of service, is Lady Liberty. She sets off to the left side holding a sword and shield. Anytime Lady Liberty shows up on a coin, or in this case a medal, it's a good day. I just can't get enough of this Lady! What a GREAT addition to this medal!!!

On the reverse is a presentation from the 'State of New Jersey'. It features laurel branches and the State Seal and that's about it. Nothing like the obverse that's for sure, but they do get the point of the medal across to those reading it.

The medal we have is missing the blue and gold ribbon that at one time attached the medal to a pin mount that read "New Jersey". It's ashame that these parts did not last the test of time, but 100+ years is a long time to try and preserve such delicate fibers. I read someplace that one usually finds many of these medals with out the ribbon and or the pin mount. It's just the terrible truth we are left with after the test of time.. Over a century of it!

This is an example of what it would have looked like original and complete.

I think the medal we have is much crisper. The fine details are very nice still.

It has some nice weight to it too! Rather thick, but not as thick as say a silver dollar. More like the thickness of a half dollar.

Speaking of a silver dollar.. Here we have the medal next to a 2021 American Eagle so that you can get a good idea of the size, as well as see Lady Liberty twice!

That about sums it up for this medal. I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can find out about these other medals. Most of them athletic in nature.

“A soldier will return as a hero either with a medal on his chest or a metal in his chest.”
― Suraj Sani

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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