Silver Afrika Medal

[Nigel N]

Hi Guys!!
The 3 medals I got from Helmut Weitze's last update arrived today, as they are all very different, I will put them in separate threads!
Thanks to all at Weitze's!!
Ok, so first up is the Silver Afrika medal!!!
I hadn't seen one before, so I went for it, and i'm glad I did, as it is a very interesting piece!!
It is an S&L, but finished with a Silver wash.
It has the raised dots of a later piece, but is actually an in-between piece in terms of age!!!
It has suffered from poor storage, as did quite a few pieces from this collection, the Silver has nearly gone from the Obverse, but that does give us the opportunity to see the Bronze beneath, thankfully the Silver has survived much better on the reverse, and gives the medal a very different look to the normal Bronze!
Heres some pics............
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[Nigel N]

Heres some views of the Obverse.........
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[Nigel N]

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[ATTACH]3217925[/ATTACH]

[Nigel N]

Though they are hard to make out, heres the designers name "De Marchis".....
x1.jpg

And, the original makers name "Lorioli Milan"
x2.jpg

[Nigel N]

Onto the much better preserved Reverse.............
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DSCF0721 (3).jpg

[Nigel N]

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[Nigel N]

Couple of details......
Top of the arch............
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Savoy knot..........
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[Nigel N]

Comparison with a later Bronze..............
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[reichenberg]

Very nice addition Nigel. I actually prefer the silver finish to the bronze.

[Nigel N]

And finally....the most interesting part!!!!
The early Bronze Afrika's are thinner, and the later type, with the raised dot finish, are slightly thicker....
This Silver, although it has the raised dots, is of the earlier thinner type!!!!


Nigel

[Skyhawk]

Hi Nigel,

Interesting piece and for me it leads to several questions.....

1) Has it been confirmed by multiple pieces (or some other manner) that S&L did in fact produce silver wash 57er Afrika medals from the factory? This is the first that I have seen.

2) If confirmed, any comments as to why produce something that did not exist in a wartime piece. Pure fantasy?

3) Seems like a lot of the pieces from that source suffered from "poor storage". To me some look like crude attempts at artificial aging. I have seen 70 year old ground dug pieces with less aging.

Definitely an interesting piece to discuss!

Best,

Jeff

[Nigel N]

Hi Jeff,
Well firstly, this is no fantasy variant, Silver finished pieces were made wartime, not different classes, just a different colour!!
So far, no other makers of postwar Afrika medals without national symbols, other than S&L have been seen!
The silver finish is pretty much typical for a silver S&L piece, and compares well with any other silver pieces.
Having these pieces in hand, I can safely say, it is not artificial aging, just deterioration of the silver finish due to the conditions they were stored in!
-Nigel

[Skyhawk]

Hi Jeff,
Well firstly, this is no fantasy variant, Silver finished pieces were made wartime, not different classes, just a different colour!!
So far, no other makers of postwar Afrika medals without national symbols, other than S&L have been seen!
The silver finish is pretty much typical for a silver S&L piece, and compares well with any other silver pieces.
Having these pieces in hand, I can safely say, it is not artificial aging, just deterioration of the silver finish due to the conditions they were stored in!
-Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I did not realize there were silver wash Afrika medals produced during the war. I will have to check Antonio's Afrika book for mention. I know that the zinkers could look silver/grey. I have not seen a wartime bronze piece with a silver finish/wash. My main question is has anyone ever seen (or own) another example of a S&L produced non swaz Afrika medal with silver wash or do you have the only one?

Also, why a silver wash Afrika medal?

Best,

Jeff

[Tom B]

Nice additions ! Tom

[Nigel N]

Thanks Tom!
@Jeff, I was only talking to Antonio a couple of days ago, I told him about this medal!
I am sure this isn't a one-off, there will be more Silver S&L's out there, but I think this is the first we have seen....so far!!
I will start a thread at some point on the Afrika medal, and show variants and examples on medalbars etc.
Hopefully it will generate some further interest in them?
-Nigel