Mar 27, 2014 - Sale 2342

Sale 2342 - Lot 458

Unsold
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(MILITARY--WORLD WAR I.) [YOUNG, COLONEL CHARLES ]. COSTON, W. HILARY. America's Sesquicentennial and the Sixty-third anniversary of the Freedom of its Slaves. Two piece bronze medal 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches, with clasp on reverse. A pristine example. Np: James Spencer Co, 1922
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Additional Details

a bright, 'as new' example of this commemorative medal, acknowledging the valor of generations of African American veterans. The front bears an image of Colonel Charles Young, West Point '89, and the dates '1864-1922.' The reverse states: 'In memory of their heroism and that of their progeny, who as volunteers in the American wars gave their lives for the establishment and perpetuity of the American Republic, W. Hilary Coston.' It is not clear why Coston chose to have these medals struck in 1922, but it might possibly have been a late appreciation of the huge number of African Americans who served in World War I, none of whom received any award from their own country.