Greg Burns currently serves as editor of The California Numismatist, the award-winning joint publication of the California State Numismatic Association (CSNA) and the Numismatic Association of Southern California (NASC), and has been a coin collector for about 35 years. His collecting passions are the satirical medals of the German medallist, Karl Goetz, medals relating to WWI in general, and he has a longtime fascination with Canadian colonials and bank tokens.
Varieties...
There are many varieties of the Lusitania medals in the market place. I've written a book that describes each of these in detail along with easy to apply identifiers and approximate rarity and prices, but here are the basics:
Goetz First Medal (dated 5 MAI 1915)
- Iron and Bronze
- With and without edge mark
Goetz Second Medal (dated 7 MAI 1915)
- With and without edge mark
- Iron and Bronze
- Off metals
British Copies
- Dated 5 MAY and 5 MAI
- Differing styles of the "Y" in those dated with MAY
- With and without the box and certificate of issue
American Copies
- With and without the box and certificate of issue
Japanese Copies
- Bronze and Silver
Modern Reproductions
- Der Dienst Centrifugal Casting, Museum Reproductions, various counterfeits