1961 Bay of Pigs medal

lordmarcovan · August 15, 2011 12:19AM

This piece lay forgotten in a drawer until recently. It's dated April 17, 1961, in an obvious reference to the Bay of Pigs invasion. One side is in Spanish and the other in English. (NO HABRA MAS FIN QUE LA VICTORIA / THERE WILL BE NO END BUT VICTORY) Of course, the victory didn't go as planned- it went to the defenders instead of the invaders.

I had an inkling of what this was, but didn't start Googling until today. It is mentioned in the ANS database. (Note that they have the artist as "KFK", but the initials on the medal actually appear to say "KFR".

Now, for the part that shocked me... check out the BIN price on this eBay example! I about fell out of my chair when I saw that. (Geez- I was about to ask twelve bucks for this!) So, is it really worth what that eBay seller is asking? His looks a tiny bit nicer than mine, but not by much! He says the mintage was under 5,000. And that it's the only one he's seen.

I asked if he wanted to see another... for a price.

(Hey, even if he offers me half of what he's askin' for his, I'm in clover, right?)

derryb · August 15, 2011 12:22AM

Nice piece, thanks for posting.

Don't drill it.

BillJones · August 15, 2011 12:26AM

The piece would interest me, but I have not idea what it is worth. The $300+ looks like all the money and then some. Usually modern political pieces don't bring very much, and you would have to be a bit of a history buff to know about this failed adventure. It was first big mistake of JFK’s presidency, and it taught him a valuable lesson. Don’t believe everything the military brass tells you.

lordmarcovan · August 15, 2011 12:29AM

<< <i>Don't drill it. >>

Not to worry. I only collect pre-drilled, pre-1900 holeys.

lordmarcovan · August 15, 2011 12:49PM

Eh. It was just seller exuberance, perhaps. After I contacted him, it turns out he had just sort of randomly found it in his collection, like I did mine.

He has since lowered his price from $326.00 down to $199.00.

I still think it's an intriguing piece, but perhaps not so exciting as I'd initially thought upon seeing the other auction. To me, it's just a modern CuNi medal, albeit one with a pretty significant and tragic history.

I doubt he'll get three figures on his. Maybe upper two figures? Who knows. I don't. What would be interesting is to see what it closed for in an auction. Which reminds me... I should have searched closed auctions...

OldEastside · August 15, 2011 1:00PM

Don't drill it. >>

That made me laugh

Thats a really cool piece Lord.

Steve

edix2001 · August 15, 2011 2:41PM

The CIA was forced to declassify some of that Bay of Pigs material today:
TOP SECRET CIA 'OFFICIAL HISTORY' OF THE BAY OF PIGS: REVELATIONS

chumley · August 15, 2011 5:08PM

they gave out medals for that? we got our butts kicked

SportsModerator · August 15, 2011 9:24PM

If memory serves me correctly, these along with 1oz rounds were sold after 1961, perhaps 63-66 by the organization "Alpha 66" which were expatriot Cubans deternined to essentially liberate Cuba from Castro. I remember the 1 oz rounds being advertized in the numismatic press in 1966 at $5 each, a lofty premium which would have sent the metalheads on our boards into an absolute tizzy.

53BKid · August 15, 2011 11:08PM

Timely post lordmarcovan!

The government released many documents this week that discuss among other things the CIA shooting at the freedom fighter's planes, and their use of napam. In today's papers!

Thanks for the post.

ricko · August 16, 2011 12:10AM

I was in the Navy at that time... and we had lots of activity around Cuba. Cheers, RickO

lordmarcovan · August 16, 2011 12:14PM

I was born in Florida and my parents lived there in the few preceding years, when this medal was struck. (I didn't come along until '65). Dad talked about being in the Coast Guard during that era and what a scary time the Missile Crisis was in south Florida. I think he said he had just gotten out of the service less than a month before all that came to a peak, and was worried he would be pulled back in somehow.

rec78 · August 17, 2011 2:13AM

Anyone can price anything at any price-That doesn't mean that he will get it or that the item is worth the price or even a fraction of the price he is asking. Now it is on sale for $183.08.

Very cool piece though. I never saw one before. Bob

09sVDB · August 17, 2011 7:40AM

Robinson: Way cool medal. I think if you look closely at it it says "no habra" not "no habrea." No habra is the third person sigular future of the verb haber which means "to be" in spanish. I like it . Can I have it o puedo tenerlo?

lordmarcovan · August 17, 2011 11:06AM

<< <i>Way cool medal. I think if you look closely at it it says "no habra" not "no habrea." No habra is the third person sigular future of the verb haber which means "to be" in spanish. I like it . Can I have it o puedo tenerlo? >>

You're right. My eyes (and Spanish) are rusty. Los tiempos de los verbos(?- verb tense) was always my stumbling block there.

Si, tu puedes comprarlo, si quieres.

1961 Bay of Pigs medal

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