Last Sunday's lots at Heritage Auction renewed my interest in Schuetzen Verein medals and ribbons.  I have been able to add two or three to my collection but they very rarely come up for sale.

I had this photo from A.O. Niedner's album of himself holding a Maynard Long-Range Creedmoor rifle in front of two boards of medals and ribbons.  I was able to zoom in on the boards and thought it was too cool not to share.

Ha ... thank you.  "It's not you, it's me"     I was resizing them to post.

Get a load of the l-o-n-g trick carving right at the top of the frame holding the medals.  Niedner's "just-for-fun" work, do you suppose?

Bill Lawrence

Thanks for posting those pics, really brings back some history.

Aaron

Those re really great images of a huge figure in firearms history! Thanks for posting them Joe!

     One of the medals on the board, center at right, is a Victory Medal, awarded by the Massachusetts Rifle Association to "persons possessing suffficient skill to win one." "The medal was struck in gold, silver and bronze, and the figure on the front of the medal is of Victory, taken from famous Walhalla (Hall of the Chosen) or German "Temple of Fame." but one or two gold Victory medals have been awarded, a few silver ones only, and those in bronze are far from common ; for, even with the acknowledged skill possessed by some of the members of this old association, they have seldom been able to fulfill the requirements to recieve this beautiful trophy."                                                                                                      
   "There have been many engraved medals produced for this organization, which have been won by members and visitors at the Walnut Hill Range, but as the association prospered and enlarged its membership, there was a general desire among its members to produce a trophy which would be superior to the engraved badges, and of sufficient value and beauty tobe highly prized by the person possessing sufficient skill to enable him to win one." I found a silver one many years ago, and after considerable searching, found this information in The Rifle, pg. 13, May of 1885.

I would bet that a great number of them, being made of gold or silver, were sold and or melted down by relatives that inherited them and had no interest in family history or any history for that matter. Most of the single shot rifle collectors I know or have known have an interest in them, and have quite a few in their collections. This being said, there may be a fair number still in family keepsakes. The lady that I aquired the Victory medal from had many medals from her grandfather, most from or related to the Massachusetts Rifle Association, which he had belonged to. She was selling them at an antique fair in Paso Robles, Ca. Her husband had passed away, and neither she or their children had any interest in them. I doubt if she was even aware of another outlet where she could dispose of them. I still have them, and will make sure that they end up in the hands of someone who would appreciate them.

It is interesting that some of the ribbons are for shooting matches sponsored by Turn Vereins.