Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Unknown Military Medal

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Expert: - 2/14/2010


Question

Unknown Medal
I have had a small cigar box that contained odds and ends from my grandfather and his brothers, included is a medal with a black ribbon.  The medal has a gold lined white cross with forked ends, in the center is a round eagle emblem with the words "e pluribus unum".  There are no markings on the back.  The medal is light in weight and I can find no image of it on any military sites.  I noticed you answered a military medal question earlier, so thought I'd give you a try.  Image is attached.  Tahnks.  Conrad

Answer
Hi Conrad,
This actually is not a military medal. You have a vintage Knights Templar membership medal, a society that many say are related to the Freemasons. Medals like this have been made for nearly 100 years, and largely look the same. This one looks to be from the middle of the century, very possibly from the WWII years.
These are not particularly rare, and most medal collectors do not even know what exactly they are. If I were to guess at value, somewhere around $20-$25.
Thanks for the question! =)

Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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