by AGgressive Metal » Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:02 pm
The reverse of the medal says "The terror of the boches, the 75". 'Boches' is a deragatory French word for German soldiers and the 75 refers to the 75mm Model 1897 field gun that is pictured. It was a bad mamma-jamma that could fire very rapidly compared to other artillery of the time and was used by the Allies, including America. In fact, French 75s remained in service in many nations well into WW2. The fact that the medal uses an un-PC word tells me it is an original period medal, not a modern souvenir. Whether or not it is valuable is a different story, but you could check around the WWI French militaria section of Ebay for hints.
And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe hit wel
For nothyng is better than lyberte
For lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold and syluer of all the world
-Aesop's Fables, Caxton edition 1484