1437

SPANISH COLONIAL, uniface silver military medal with oval hanger, Ferdinand VII, no date (ca. 1808-1

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Exonumia - Medals Start Price:2,400.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
SPANISH COLONIAL, uniface silver military medal with oval hanger, Ferdinand VII, no date (ca. 1808-1
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SPANISH COLONIAL, uniface silver military medal with oval hanger, Ferdinand VII, no date (ca. 1808-1820s), Premio del Valor, extremely rare. Medina (Medallas coloniales hispano americanas)-14. 40.83 grams. 46 mm. For the serious collector of Latin American military decorations, this is an exceptional and historically important royalist Medal for Valor bearing the uniformed bust of Ferdinand VII facing right between PREMIO to left and DEL VALOR to right, uniface and made for suspension. Choice AU grade with lovely rainbow toning over luster and hairlines from old cleaning.

This type was misidentified as a Bolívar decoration in the February 1911 Jacques Schulman sale of the Oscar Salbach Collection, where lot 1555 was described as a gold medal with the bust of Bolívar and PREMIO DEL VALOR. Another example in silver was listed elsewhere in the same sale, showing that the type was made in both metals. This erroneous Bolívar attribution was later repeated in 1932 by Harrold E. Gillingham in his book South American Decorations and War Medals (p. 55).

José Toribio Medina, however, had already correctly identified the type in 1919 as bearing the bust of Ferdinand VII in a detailed description matching this piece, including the uniface format and suspension ring. Even Medina could not come up with a geographical location, however, nor did Salbach. Until further documentary evidence establishes a specific issuing authority, the most we can say is that it is a Spanish American royalist issue.
The only examples known to us besides the present lot are the Salbach specimens in both gold and silver and the Medina specimen in silver. Clearly, this is an extremely rare piece worthy of the most select collections of military awards, decorations, and proclamations.