How can I find out more about this WWII commemorative medal?

November 9, 2015 1:54 PM

This has been in my family all my life, I believe it came from my uncle some time in the 70s. On the face of it, the story with this is obvious, but is there more to it? Were they common?

Sadly, I can remember chipping away at the paper on the back, but what remains appears to be:

With grateful thanks from
       MAASTRICHT

The first liberated town of
        Holland

Google isn't being helpful, but I don't know the terminology for this kind of artifact.

posted by rhizome to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

Best answer: I wonder if it is a Challenge Coin. I just learned about them via this 99% invisible podcast.

Here's another on WorthPoint. No real info though.
posted by Miko at 2:16 PM on November 9, 2015

FWIW, on the date in question, the 30th Infantry Division of US 1st Army freed Maastricht and the adjacent city of Margraten, the latter of which is also the location of the Netherlands American Cemetery.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:16 PM on November 9, 2015

Best answer: From a military auction catalog, FJP Auctions, Inc.
A Mail-bid Auction of Orders, Decorations and Medals of the WorldClosing at 5pm, Pacific Time, 1 March 2012

City of Maastricht Liberation plaque, 1944. Large bronze plaque (154mm) depicting a Madonna and child before a city scene and the city arms, inscribed “Maastricht Eerst Bevrijde Stad” [Maastrict First Liberated City] and ‘13.9/1944”. With a paper label on the reverse “To the United States Army With grateful thanks from Maastricht, The first liberated town of Holland”. VF. Estimate $100-150
posted by Miko at 2:20 PM on November 9, 2015

Are you interested in the medal specifically or the liberation of the Netherlands during WWII more generally? Just anecdotally I can tell you that both Belgium and the Netherlands take Liberation Day pretty seriously and retain a profound respect for the sacrifice of American (and other Allied) troops during the campaign to free those countries. Various towns and cities do a variety of things to commemorate the liberation and visiting the military cemeteries in those countries was a moving experience for me, especially as I was accompanied by people who had had family members who had served in those campaigns. I am not surprised to see a token of gratitude like this.
posted by Wretch729 at 2:25 PM on November 9, 2015

Response by poster: The funny thing is that the official date of liberation appears to be Sept 14, not 13 as here. I found some plates that say 13-14, so perhaps it used to be fuzzier than now. Likewise, this one is smaller than the one in the auction, so perhaps there were a lot of these things going around. If the Nazis had Maastrichtenaar making bullets or hinges or some other molten metal industry, it makes sense that people could whip up a mold pretty quickly.

My interest is really just to try to figure out a little bit of the mystery of this plaque and how it could have made its way through my family to holding down a small pile of papers on my desk. It has always made sense as a memento, but sometimes you just find yourself with something that looks like it probably has a story. I've certainly never heard a story of a family member who was present at the liberation of any WWII anything, so we'll see if anybody knows something (the uncle was by marriage and was divorced away 35 years ago).
posted by rhizome at 3:12 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

According to this discussion on a Dutch forum the coins were issued shortly after the war. The larger coins were for the officers. the smaller for the soldiers. The coins were minted by Fonderie (foundry) Millen .
posted by bluedora at 10:20 PM on November 9, 2015