RARE ETHIOPIA STAR OF VICTORY MEDAL 1941

Offered is an Ethiopian Star of Victory.

55 mm high silver Coptic cross surmounted by the Ethiopian Imperial crown with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with the Star of the Trinity in relief and inscribed in Amharic ‘Star of Victory 1933’ (Ethiopian calendar) and ‘Unforgettable Achievement’; the reverse inscribed ‘STAR OF VICTORY 1941’; age-toned; on original ribbon.

Ethiopia had maintained her independence for more than two thousand years when Italian forces invaded in 1935 and eventually took control, annexing the country in 1936. In 1941 patriotic Ethiopian, British and Commonwealth troops liberated the country and Emperor Haile Selassie re-entered Addis Ababa in triumph on 5 May. The Star of Victory, made, like many other Ethiopian awards, by Mappin & Webb of London, was issued to commemorate victory over the Italians and the restoration of sovereignty in 1941. The Star is becoming hard to find. A good example.