DESCRIPTION

Item

A State of New Mexico "For Service" medal — a New Mexico state service decoration. The gilt-bronze round planchet is inscribed "STATE OF NEW MEXICO" above and "FOR SERVICE" below, around the central device of the New Mexico state seal: the American bald eagle with its wings shielding the smaller Mexican eagle. It hangs from a ribbon in the state colors of red and yellow, on a pin-back brooch suspension. The reverse is plain and maker-marked "A.H. DONDERO INC., WASH. D.C." The planchet measures approximately 3.5 cm (35 mm) in diameter; as the piece is shown against the Lobo Forensics scale in the photograph, this is a close-approximate reading. It is in very good condition with the ribbon intact.

Design

The medal draws its imagery directly from the Great Seal of the State of New Mexico, on which the large American eagle protectively shields the smaller Mexican eagle (grasping a snake and cactus in the Mexican tradition) — a symbol of the 1912 transition of the territory into American statehood while honoring its Spanish-Mexican heritage. The red-and-yellow ribbon reflects the official state colors of New Mexico, drawn from the old Spanish colors and echoed in the state flag. Together they identify this unmistakably as a New Mexico state award "for service."

History

The individual U.S. states, through their National Guard and state military establishments, award their own service medals and decorations to recognize the service of their citizen-soldiers — awards distinct from the federal medals of the U.S. armed forces. A New Mexico "For Service" medal of this kind honored service to the state, most likely through the New Mexico National Guard, and was produced by A.H. Dondero of Washington, D.C., a known maker of state and military medals in the mid-20th century. State-issued medals are a distinctive and specialized corner of American militaria collecting, and a New Mexico example — from a state with a proud military heritage — is an uncommon and characterful piece.

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