IT cost me $65 at the Colorado State CoinFair. You know how it is, you just cannot

leave a coin fair with money still in yourpocket, even after experiencing a feedingfrenzy of exciting experiences and discov-ering items that do not seem to find theirway south of the equator.

Of course, there was an excuse. Thisdealer, who just happened to be special-izing in Condor tokens (otherwise knownas English trade tokens), also had a sel-ection of European art medallions andinterspersed in the case were some milit-ary tokens and medallions. I knew if it hadbeen a medallion from WWII then thecollecting vultures would have alreadyswooped, leaving the cupboard bare. How-ever for some reason, which was to mybenefit, WWI does not have the sameattraction.

The medalThe medallion is 62mm in diameter

and the official designation of material –AE - otherwise known as bronze - isstamped on the edge. It is between 3 and4mm thick and also has the name F. D.Brown Inc NJ believed to be the manu-facturer, incuse on the rim.

The obverse depicts a helmeted Amer-ican soldier running across a battlefield.He was one of those popularly known as“doughboys,” the nickname was given toall US infantrymen. He holds his rifle,bayonet attached, with both hands front

of him. The rifle is either the M1903 modelor M1917 Springfield, both of which werein use by the US in Europe during theperiod 1917-1918.

The uniform consists of wool socks, longwool underwear, (cotton in warm weather),pullover shirt and wool breeches ortrousers combined with a tunic with ahigh necked restrictive collar. The earlyshoes or ankle boots were covered bycanvas leggings when the doughboys

first got to France, but were eventuallyreplaced by wool spiral wrap puttees fromthe top of the boot to just below the knees.The greatcoat weighing just over 3 kilos,completed the kit. The helmet, copied fromthe British Brodie model, was comple-mented by the respirator or gas mask,together with the backpack complete withmess kit, shaving kit, extra clothing, halfa tent, tent stakes and the entrenchingtool in the form of a small spade orpickax.

The American Doughboy 1919 medallion Or: The Yanks in France 1917-1918 by Tony James

Doughboy Medallion 1917-1918. Produced 1919 engraved by MP Lordonnois

James Montgomery Flagg’s iconic “Uncle Sam”recruiting poster, inspired by Britain’s Lord-Kitchener” poster. Image: Library of Congress.

Cover of sheet music for America’s most famousWorld War I song, George M. Cohan’s “OverThere”. Image: Library of Congress.

The figure, in front of a battle scenewith shell bursts and a trench line, hasbarbed wire at his feet, and to the rightthe words “© By M. Lordonnois 1919.”

The reverse of the medallion is sepa-rated by a bridge in the lower fifth of thefield and, while harder to read, tells usthat it was déposé (cast) by Studer (XX?),probably the name of the foundry, togetherwith the French Cross of Lorraine.

The legend “1917 FRANCE 1918” iscurved around the top of the medallionwith a large area of sky before a reliefmap of France depicts the names of themajor battle locations where the USArmy fought.

Argonne ForestThe Argonne Forest was the setting

for the Meuse – Argonne offensive, whichoccurred between September 26 andNovember 11 1918 as part of MarshalFoch’s plan to break through the Hinden-burg Line. The Americans advancedtowards the rail transport hub at Sedanon September 26 in an offensive with theFrench 4th Army which was the largestoperation and victory for the AmericanExpeditionary Force (AEF) during WWI.America put 15 divisions into the battlealongside the 31 French divisions, anaction which together with the Britishand Belgian advances along the WesternFront, led to the Armistice on November11.

Belleau WoodThe Battle of Belleau Wood (Bois Bel-

leau) consisted of two related actions,firstly at Chateau-Thierry on June 3-4,and then at Belleau Wood from June 6-261918. The US forces recaptured thewoodland taken by the German 7th Armyduring their Aisne offensive in May. The

Second Division’s Marine Corps took thewood with their second highest casualtyrate ever - a total of 9,777 casualties, ofwhich 1,811 were fatal. (the highest beingat the capture of Tarawa from the Japan-ese during WWII in November 1943).

Château ThierryThe Battle of Château Thierry on the

River Marne, fought on July18 1918, wasone of the first actions fought by the AEFunder General “Black Jack” Pershing. Partof the Second Battle of the Marne, it hadthe Americans fighting against a newGerman offensive launched on July 15 inwhat was the first assault for over a year,and it took place along a 40 km wide front.The attack went without the usual pre-paratory artillery bombardment, insteadbeing closely followed by a synchronisedrolling barrage.

ReimsThe Second Battle of the Marne also

known as the Battle of Reims, took place15 July-6 August 1918. It was the lastmajor German Spring Offensive on theWestern Front during WWI and thecounter attack by French and Americanforces stopped the advance of the German7th Army which tried to split the Frenchforces in two. The Sixth French Armywas joined by the British XXII Corps and85,000 American troops, halting the ad-vance on July 17.

St MihielThe St Mihiel offensive on the River

Meuse was the first US operation andvictory by an independent American Armyin WWI. The battle occurred betweenSeptember 12-16 1918 south east of Ver-dun and involved the US First Army and

one French Corp commanded by GeneralJohn J. Pershing. The Americans took15,000 prisoners and 257 guns at a costof 7,000 casualties. It was during thisoffensive that Lt Col George S. Patton cre-ated leadership principles that he was touse during WWII. He was also responsiblefor commencing the use of Renault tankswhich the Americans had observed beingused by the British at the Battle of Cam-brai. While the Germans were extremelywell informed of the offensive, due to aSwiss newspaper publishing the date, timeand duration of the preparatory barrage,they lacked sufficient manpower andleadership to mount a counter attack.

SoissonThe Battle of Soisson (also known as

the Battle of Soissons and of the Ourcq)was fought between July 18- 22 1918. TheAmericans, with eight large US divisionsand 350 tanks, supported the 24 Frenchdivisions and several British divisions,and the French recaptured most of theground lost during the German SpringOffensive in May of that year.

Verdun The last major combat in the Verdun

sector of the Western Front took placeduring the Meuse-Argonne offensive andwas carried out by the AEF from Septem-ber 12 until the Armistice on November11 1918. This part of the Western Frontwas the scene of combat from the earliest

Wartime postcard with soldier and girl showingdestruction of Germans by tanks

General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershingwho led the American Expeditionary Forces inWorld War I. Image: Library of Congress.

Local currency notes used in the area whereAEF was fighting. Marne, Montmedy, St Dizierand Sedan