GREAT BRITAIN. Next of Kin Memorial Uniface Bronze Medal, ND (1919-20). George V. UNCIRCULATED.
Weight: 331 gms; diameter: 120mm. By Edward Carter Preston. Obverse: Female Britannia stands facing right in classical robes, wearing crested helmet surmounted by British lion, her right hand wrapped around standing trident, her left hand holding up an olive wreath above a classical ansate tablet with inscription field bearing the names of the memorialized deceased in raised letters without reference to rank. To her left and right (at 10 o'clock and 1 o'clock) dolphins swimming, representing (with her trident) British naval forces. At her feet a standing British lion (presumably symbolizing land forces) and a spray of oak with acorns at its base to its right. Below in exergue, lion with the neck of a Germanic eagle in its jaws, HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOR Inscription field presentation: WILLIAM CROFT; Reverse: Blank except for stamp of conjoined, encircled initials "W[oolich Royal] A[rsenal]". 7 WWI British casualties named "William Croft" appear in the Commonwealth War Graves on-line database: Farrier Sergeant 41; Stoker 1st Class SS/113963; Private L/6179; Lance Corporal G/11452; Lance Corporal 8473; Private 1394; Private 4858801). A further 48 war dead appear by the same name, but also with middle names, the latter having commonly been included (where known) on these memorial plaquettes. Of the 800 design proposals submitted, the winner was by English sculptor Edward Carter Preston (1885-1965), using the pseudonym Pyramus. The Memorial Plaque was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British Empire service personnel who were killed. Cast in bronze, these medals came to be known by some, pejoratively, as the "Dead Man's Penny", owing to its resemblance of the much smaller (31 mm) circulating penny. 1,355,000 plaques were issued, requiring a total of 450 tons of bronze; these continued to be issued into the 1930s to commemorate veterans who died as a consequence of their war service. Initially made at the Memorial Plaque Factory in Acton near London, from 1919. Early Acton-made plaques are identifiable for their numbers stamped behind the standing lion's back leg From December 1920, manufacture was 1,355,000 plaques were issued, requiring a total of 450 tons of bronze; these continued to be issued into the 1930s to commemorate veterans who died as a consequence of their war service. Initially made at the Memorial Plaque Factory in Acton near London, from 1919. Early Acton-made plaques are identifiable for their numbers stamped behind the standing lion's back leg From December 1920, manufacture was shifted to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, identifiable by a reverse mark, and a number stamped on the obverse between (rather than behind) the standing lion's hind leg. There were approximately 1,500 plaquettes issued in memory of women, which transposes "She" for "He" in the legend, requiring a slightly narrower modification of the initial "H" in "He" and the movement of the stamped serial numbers from the hindmost, to the location in between, the lion's legs, making them rare on multiple levels. Smaller or "miniature", unofficial bronze plaques after the original design were produced by other manufacturers, for example Wright and Sons of Edgeware, Middlesex. References: - http://www.greatwar.co.uk/memorials/memorial-plaque.htm
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From the Stephen R. Parks Collection of Medallic Arts.

Estimate: $60.00- $100.00