Replica of German Lusitania Medal

[Paul Rogers]

A neighbour and good friend has today given me a medal "commemorating" the sinking of the Lusitania. The medal is in a presentation box, headed up: "The 'Lusitania' (German) Medal" and containing an insert which states: "An exact replica of the medal which was designed in Germany and distributed to commemorate the sinking of the 'Lusintania' "

The medal matches exactly the description provided in: "Lusitania - Saga and Myth" by David Ramsay and appears to be one of the 300,000 reproduced in 1916 by Gordon Selfridge, at the request of Captain Hall of British Naval Intelligence.

It is probably unlikely given the number which were produced but, should this medal be valuable, then I feel it only fair that I tell my neighbour its worth and offer it back to him - or at least offer him its true value.

Could anyone please advise me as to what it might be worth? Thanks in anticipation.

Regards,
Paul.

 

[Nigel Hampson]

Paul,
I am relatively certain that if this medal IS one of the replicas produced for propaganda purposes, by the british government ((And from your description this seems likely)) then the value of such a medal is surprisingly small. I don't have one myself, but I see them coming up in antique fairs and such quite regularly and the asking price is usually in the £20.00 to £30.00 bracket.
Hope this helps.
Nige

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

The bronze ones seem to be in the $75 range, the rarer silver ones $150-200. Mrs. McDermott (Barbara Anderson) had always wanted one, and received one a few years ago when a British newspaper happened to mention her wish.

 

[Paul Rogers]

Nige and Shelley - thanks very much for your replies. An extra vote of thanks to Shelley for the photo; that's the one I've been given, right enough!

Regards,
Paul.

 

[Steve Anderson]

Hello All: As for the Lusitania Medal the best web-site for the history of the medal that I have found is at the Imperial War Museum. The link is below. There are various versions of this medal attached is a scan of the Original much rarer Second version of the German medal dated Mai 7, 1915 from my collection. Any original German medal will be solid bronze, some of the British reproductions were bronze plated, and also has the date of MAI 7, 1915. The quickest way to tell if you have an original is how is MAY spelled MAI or MAY. Also the original will have marks .. over the A and the V in Gesch"a"ft "V"ber Alles and the ch will be attached to each other. If the medal meets this test the next is does a magnet stick to it if it does it is a bronze plated copy/fake. Also the originals will be much thinner and have a much higher relief detail. Imperial War Museum London - The Lusitania Medallion

 

[Paul Rogers]

Steven - thanks for the info and the link. Interesting stuff. Sadly, I most definitely do not have an original!