Ice Cross - Medal

Hello everyone, I've finally found it.

This medal, the ice cross, has always fascinated me and I tried for a long time at an acceptable price. It is normally sold around 150 € in these conditions, if perfect 200 €, its price has risen significantly over the past two or three years.

There is a version, is said to officers, quite rare in silver prices that can reach 6-700 € in the best conditions. A variant is even more curious and rare in silver with black enamel, someone says it is wartime, someone says artisan others attribute to the black shirts of the Republic of Salò.

It is not an official medal, then those who had wanted to buy it, that's why even though in Russia they went to so many people the price is quite high. Few could afford to buy a medal when they returned from the front. The most common is made in zinc alloy and the white paint is very delicate, the silver version should be glazed.

Are considered original wartime those marked "Lorioli-MILANO-ROMA" and "A. Picozzi Milan" in two lines on the arm at the bottom, there are many unmarked, there is no clarity on these because they could have been made ​​by other companies or after the war. On the back are engraved the Dnieper Donets written on her arm at the top, DON on the right arm, left arm BUG, LUGLIO941 LUGLIO942 on the arm at the bottom and CSIR at the center. They are usually classified as produced in 60-70 years if they have the brand Lorioli-MILANO-ROMA on one line always on the arm down because in this period the company changed the name.

Unfortunately many have been repainted, but a careful eye should be able to see any burrs that are on the edge or color differences. Another dilemma is the ribbon sometimes the most recent of the cross, to recognize more recent tapes must assess the color, I've seen use UV lamps to see if the white is due to dye recently.

One Thanksgiving, as always, go to the forum "miles" from whom I learned a lot of useful information.

This is mine.

June 2, 2013 - Medal of Honor to Italian citizens who were deported and interned in Nazi concentration camps from 1943 to 1945

Yesterday in the festivities for June 2 (REPUBLIC DAY) I had the pleasure to withdraw the medal of honor to the Italian citizens who were deported and interned in Nazi concentration camps from 1943 to 1945 given to my grandfather, unfortunately missed in 1983.
The medal was established by Article 1 of Law No 1271-1276 paragraphs. 296 of 2006.
My grandfather, Giorgio Galliano, was captured in a raid German together with seven other guys (Giovanni Galliano, Promis Pietro, Oreste Galliano, Galliano Venanzio, Epifanio Galliano, Galliano Giuseppe, Ferrua Dario) in Roburent March 21, 1944, was probably mistaken for a partisan and then transferred to a labor camp in Germany. Unfortunately he always spoke very little of these periods of his life and missed too early to be able to tell how things went specifically. The only things certain these are also listed in the diary of Don Emidio Ferraris pastor of Serra Pamparato time. Thanks to the municipality of Pamparato the diary is also available on the Internet at this address.

http://www.comune.pamparato.cn.it/home/?id_pg=119&id_spg=124

The memories of my father are very vague we only know that my grandfather worked in a factory and many times suffered hunger their only wealth was to eat the potato skins on a bin that also served as a heater in the cabin. When he managed to return to Italy it is said that they stopped in the village tavern near Cuneo, the owner, made ​​by compassion, he gave them to eat a boiled chicken which did not leave even the bones.
Today, after 69 years in Cuneo, this medal was handed to 10 people, 9 to memory 1 to a veteran still alive born in 1922.

Medal of St. Helena

It is some time that I wanted to write a few lines on this beautiful coin.
The medal of Sainte Hélène St. Helena or to say it in Italian was instituted by Napoleon III , to reward 405,000 soldiers still alive in 1857 , who fought alongside Napoleon Bonaparte during the wars from 1792 to 1815 .
Among all the decorated 5000 also received an inheritance of 400 francs having been the most deserving .
It was decorated as well as some Italian , but they do not know the number. Surely , for example, the men of the 111th Infantry of the line all Piedmont volunteers who accompanied Napoleon in Russia , predecessors, with the same fate , the Alpine troops in World War II .

The engraving on the back reminiscent of Napoleon Bonaparte, who in his will left a substantial figure for the benefit of his soldiers :
Campaigns 1792-1815 . Amongst the companions of glory , his last thought. May 5, 1821

It is not a rare medal , if they are quite a bit less with the ribbon . One thing to note is the cross at the top that many times it is broken down enough and makes it the value.
The ribbon like all of these medals to be a bit ' faded and show the signs of aging .
As riguardai the price if you want my advice take it in France, you find it much more cheaply than in Italy.
Particular attention should be made ​​to cross at the top , many times broken or worn and hidden by the ribbon in the pictures on the web. Prices are acceptable flow around 30-40 € for a nice medal with no ribbon and 60-70 € for one that is equipped.

I would also point out this great site that lists all the names of the awarded and, if possible, a photograph or their portrait.
http://www.stehelene.org/php/accueil.php?lang=it

Medal for the wars of independence and the unification of Italy

One of the latest arrivals in the collection of stories and photos.
Medal awarded to a fighter who took part in the campaign of 1849 (War of Independence) bar that displays the date that year. We are at the beginning of the events that led to the unification of Italy.
The medal object is silver, has a diameter of 32 mm, and the ribbon is of the classic Italian tricolor repeated for 6 times.
The engraver in this case was Demetrius Canzani, there are at least 20 variants, the most common are Jonshon and Stefano Ferraris, also there are traces of a variant of French private production very rare engraved by E. Falot.
It was established by the Royal Decree of 4 March 1865, and given to all the fighters who participated in the wars of independence since 1848, also served to remove a number of medals that were created by individual municipalities.
The historical data are taken from the book "The Italian medals of the last 200 years," the Brambilla.
I've also seen the same issue and medals with ribbon but not silver. For sellers these are original but I've never trusted because it is sometimes also called for a higher price than for those classics. The medal is not very rare and is commonly found around 60-70 € without bars, a little more if they are present.
They are found in many ribbons are not original, keep in mind that a ribbon for good that has been maintained, after more than 150 years a minimum you will be
discolored and worn as you can see in the picture below.