SS 4 year medal...input appreciated

[John T]

Hello fellows:

I have this four year SS long service medal. I know these pieces usually have a bevelled ring and the tear drop suspension. This piece is either a zinc base metal or iron...it has a nice ring like a coin when I drop it. The piece appears to be die struck and not cast. The piece has some oxidation to the exposed areas of the zinc. I am good on telling the correct 8 year medals, but these give me trouble. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John

[John T]

other side...

[John T]

detail

[keifer kahn]

Hi John,
It doesent give me a good feeling.
The details dont look crisp enough.
Also originals should be in tombak not zink.
The top ring looks wrong as well.
Has it been seperately soldered on ?or is it an integral part of the medals body.?originals should have it soldered on.The flat spot on the front of the jump reminds me of a jump ring that was on a repro 8 yr i had.
Suspension ring looks wrong as well,but could of been replaced,of course.

Is it under 38mm?.repros cast from originals are normally around the 37.5mm range.I have an 8 year that is cast from an original and you would at first look,think it was diestruck.But the medal has a lot of its casting traits removed and has been finished very neatly after its removal from the mold.

This one is a bit too crude in my opinion.

regards keifer

[John T]

Hi Keifer:

The diameter of this piece is about 37.5 mm. The ring seems to be an integral part of the medal much like I have seen on some zinc alloy pieces but it is hard to be 100 percent sure. I looked at the piece very closely and it does look to be part of the medal body and not soldered on. When I drop the piece it does not have the "thud" sound of a cast piece...but I do agree it may be cast as the size is smaller than the 38. mm you stated as being correct. If it were to be a casting I would imagine it to be cast from an original but the lettering design does seem to be different than what I have seen on items that are shown as original in reference material.

Thank you very much for the information.

John

[Tony Barto]

Hi John;

It's not constructed like nor has the quality of any original I've ever seen.

[John T]

Hi John;

It's not constructed like nor has the quality of any original I've ever seen.

I guess this one will go into the non-original section , thank you very much guys for the info, John