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Auction: 25002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 237

Iraq, Kingdom, Active Service Medal, no clasp, by Vladimir Sigal & Sons, Baghdad, 34mm, bronze, maker's name to reverse of suspension bar and reverse of mounting bar, some polish residue, very fine

Instituted in 1926 by the Gallantry and Active Service Medals Law No. 34, although referred to in the Regulations as the General Service Medal, the inscription on the medal and all subsequent references to it in the Iraqi Government Gazette refer to it as the Active Service Medal. The medal, bronze in colour, takes the shape of a disc fixed upon two crossed rifles with their muzzles appearing at the top and their butts at the bottom. Between the muzzles is a radiation of nine lance points. In the centre of the obverse the inscription 'Active Service' rests above a laurel wreath and a crescent, and the reverse features 'Faisal The First' and the Hijrah date of institution '1344'.

Vladimir Sigal was reportedly born in Russia (now Azerbaijan) in 1896 and later established a goldsmith shop in the Lynch Building on Al Nahir Street in Baghdad in 1921. He operated the business in Baghdad for several decades with his sons Isaac and Tola, but by the late 1970s the family had emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where they continued to work as goldsmiths.

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Sold for
£210

Starting price
£40