Lot of (4) 1930 Gold Star Pilgrimage to the Battlefields of the World War Medals. By Tiffany & Co. Bronze, with Gold Star.
38.1 mm. Looped for suspension, two with red-white-blue ribbons of considerably different lengths. Obv: Ocean liner with a radiant gold star above and the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower to left and right, respectively, date 1930 below. Rev: Legend GOLD STAR / PILGRIMAGE/ TO THE / BATTLEFIELDS / OF / THE WORLD WAR above the logo of the United States Lines amid a field of ivy leaves, signed TIFFANY & CO at lower right. Edge: Marked BRONZE M with edge number at 6 o'clock on three medals, the fourth has a plain edge. Grades are About Uncirculated or Mint State. In March 1929, 11 years after the end of World War I, the United States Congress passed a law authorizing the use of government funds to pay all expenses for mothers and widows of fallen veterans to visit their loved ones buried on the battlefields of Europe. Between 1930 and 1933, some 6,693 Gold Star mothers and war widows made the pilgrimage abroad. This medal was presented by the United States Steamship Lines to the women when they boarded their ships to Europe - regrettably, the relatives of Caucasian soldiers on luxury liners, and the relatives of African-American soldiers on commercial steamers. Apparently a database of Gold Star mothers and widows is available, perhaps allowing the recipient of the numbered medals to be identified.
From the Dick Johnson Collection.

Estimate: $500