This large medal commemorates Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic flight of 20–21 May 1927, in which he flew the Spirit of St. Louis nonstop from New York to Paris — the first pilot to achieve this. The obverse shows an allegorical female figure holding a fleur-de-lis and an American shield, flanked by the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, symbolising the union of the two nations through the flight; the reverse depicts the aircraft over a cloud-wrapped globe with the flight path traced as a dotted line, beneath the commemorative inscription. It was struck as the official medal for a banquet held in Lindbergh's honour in St. Louis, the city for which his aircraft was named, with bronze examples distributed to guests and rarer silver and gold strikes reserved for the aviator and key organisers. I have some concern this may be a later brass restrike. The engraver, Julio Kilenyi (born Kilényi Gyula, 1885–1959) was a Hungarian-born American sculptor and medallic artist who trained at the Royal Art School in Budapest and in Germany and France, worked in Buenos Aires from 1907, and settled in New York in 1916. He became one of the most prolific American medallists of his era, particularly noted for aviation subjects — including this Lindbergh medal alongside works for Wiley Post, Harold Gatty, and Admiral Byrd's polar expeditions.

Struck by Stabilimento Stefano Johnson of Milan (firm signature, left field; modeller unidentified), this bronze award medal of the Aero Club d'Italia (43.94 mm, 37.75 g, plain edge) is unawarded. On the obverse, a winged Victory holding a victoriola and wreath flies above an outline of Italy, Sicily and Sardinia, with a spherical balloon, biplane, airship and monoplane behind her. Together these represent every class of aircraft the FAI regulated. The reverse shows the club monogram, an eagle in flight bearing a ribbon, the legend AERO CLVB D'ITALIA, and a blank cartouche. Founded in 1911 as Italy's FAI member, the club became the Reale Aero Club d'Italia in 1927, which places this legend before that date. Nomisma attributes the 44 mm size to the 1926 FAI conference in Rome. A 70 mm size is also recorded.

Dammann, Feriam Sidera, 1920 (engraved 1937). Bronze medal, 90 mm, by Paul-Marcel Dammann (1885–1939), born at Montgeron. Obverse: a nude female figure on a rock ties a winged sandal, gazing skyward; legend FERIAM SIDERA (Horace, Odes 1.1.36), MCMXX, signed M. DAMMANN. Reverse: storks teaching their young to fly from a cliff-top nest. The edge bears the cornucopia mark of the Monnaie de Paris and BRONZE, indicating a Paris Mint strike. In the reverse right field is a hand-engraved inscription, ISTRES-DAMAS / PARIS / 20-21 AOUT 1937, referring to the Istres–Damascus–Paris air race. The race originated in a proposed transatlantic contest marking the tenth anniversary of Lindbergh’s New York–Paris flight. Opposition from the United States, where accidents were feared to damage nascent transatlantic passenger services, led the Aero-Club de France in June 1937 to substitute Istres–Damascus–Paris, a 6,190 km course of comparable distance. The fastest crew would win 1.5 million francs from the French Air Ministry. Thirteen of seventeen registered crews started on 20 August; nine finished. Lt-Col Ranieri Cupini and Lt-Col Amedeo Paradisi won in a Savoia-Marchetti S.79, reaching Le Bourget after 17 h 32 min 43.2 s, and Italian crews also took second and third places. A type designed in 1920 was thus adapted as a presentation piece seventeen years later; other engraved examples are recorded. The recipient of this specimen is undocumented.

One face shows a battleship and gulls on heavy seas. The other shows a Breguet H-U3 hydravion with Icarus soaring above it. The H-U3 was a tractor biplane with equal-span wings, a 200 hp Salmson engine and a float mounted on struts, developed from Breguet's Type U2 landplane. It came to prominence almost entirely in the 1913 season, at the Monaco hydro-aeroplane meeting and the Deauville trials. The French Navy bought two H-U3s from the Deauville trials for its new naval air service, which had been created by decree in March 1912. The medal was struck at the Paris Mint, with a cornucopia and BRONZE on the edge. It is a stock award piece with a blank presentation tablet, dated 1913 in CGMP p.264. Françoise Montagny was a French medallist who worked through the Monnaie de Paris. Her later civil "Aviation" medal suggests flight was a recurring subject for her, and this naval piece is an early example.

The Atlantic had been conquered by Lindbergh in 1927, but the west-east route taken by the young American aviator was more favourable because of the winds. The first successful crossing east-west by air was actually accomplished prior to this by the German airship LZ 126 in October 1924, however the challenge to complete the journey westward in a fixed wing aircraft remained.  Many aviators had already lost their lives in the attempt, such as the Frenchmen Nungesser and Coli, who disappeared in 1927.  The feat was first achieved in April 1928 by a Junkers W 33 monoplane which flew between Ireland and Greenly Island in Canada piloted by Hermann Köhl accompanied by an Irish co-pilot, James Fitzmaurice and Baron von Hünefeld, who was the challenge sponsor. This medal celebrates the later crossing from Paris to New York in September 1930 by Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte in a Breguet XIX specially modified for this type of attempt. Equipped with a 600-horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine and carrying more than 5,000 litres of fuel they made the crossing in 37 hours and 18 minutes, landing at the Curtiss Fielf airfield in New York where they were greeted by a crowd which included Charles Lindbergh and the ambassador of France.  They were therefore the first to fly directly from mainland Europe to the USA. The medal was engraved by Louis Desvignes, a listed sculptor born in 1908 in Creusot, France. He studied under Vernet, H. Dubois and Auban and was member of the Society of French Artists, exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he obtained an honourable mention in 1907.  The question mark on the medal reflects the name of their aircraft the Point d’Interrogation, hopefully not representing any doubts on their ability to complete the flight!

On the obverse a heron flying to the left, above two terrestrial globes representing Europe and America; below DELANNOY signature. The Comité Français de Propagande Aéronautique organised the Premier Congrès International de la Sécurité Aérienne, held in Paris 13–20 December 1930 under the patronage of the Ministry of Air. Presided over by Air Minister Laurent-Eynac and Marshal Lyautey, it addressed aviation safety, meteorology, radio-navigation, and rescue, publishing multi-volume proceedings through 1933. Maurice Delannoy (Paris, 1885–1972) was a French medallist and sculptor working in an Art Deco idiom, active mainly through the Monnaie de Paris. His output includes commemorative and commercial medals — shipping lines (the ocean liner Lafayette), theatre, aviation, and state/civil honours — characterised by classicising figures and clean, allegorical compositions.

The Reliability Flight on the Upper Rhine, also known as the Prince Heinrich Flight after Prince Heinrich of Prussia took over the patronage from 1913 onwards, was a reliability competition for German aircraft that was held from 1911 to 1914.  This medal celebrates the first year of the competition.  Unfortunately, it’s not signed and so we don’t know who engraved it but we do know that it was minted by Stuttgarter Metallwarenfabrik Wilhelm Mayer & Franz Wilhelm e.K. A similar medal was minted in 1912 for the second running of the competition. The competition served to test the latest German aircraft models under practical conditions and was mainly military oriented. The course of the competition followed the Rhine from Baden Baden to Darmstadt in 600 km sections.  Officers of the German Army and the Imperial Navy as well as German civilians were eligible to participate, provided they were nominated by an association organized in the German Aviation Association. The aircraft had to have been built in Germany and meet the requirements of a military aircraft. While civilians were in the majority among the participants in 1911, the ratio was reversed in the following years. The most successful pilots were awarded well-endowed prizes in several categories. The person who covered the entire distance in the shortest time won the Kaiser Prize as the main prize. Due to adverse weather conditions at Baden-Baden in 1911, the reliability flight did not start until 21 May, one day late. The competition was later overshadowed by a tragic accident. when Charles Laemmlin died in the crash of his biplane on May 23.

Taisho, 1912-1926, AE medal (131.72g), year 14 (1925), 61mm bronze medal by Shobido for the Osaka Asahi Shimbun (Osaka Asahi Newspaper) commemorating the First Successful Flight between Japan and Europe; Japanese text reading "Successful Flight to Europe Commemorative" and "Taisho Year 14" above the airplanes Hatsukaze and Kochikaze, rising sun in the background // English inscription at the top reads "IN MEMORY OF THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TO EUROPE 1925" over map of route and schedule in central rectangular section, with THE ASAHI SHIMBUN SHA below identifying the Japanese newspaper company that sponsored the historic flight, with various national flags in outer margin. On July 25, 1925, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper sponsored the first major Japanese aviation flight from Tokyo to Europe. Two Breguet 19 French bi-planes, named Hatsukaze (First Wind) and Kochikaze (East Wind), travelled via Siberia to major European cities, arriving in Rome on October 27, 1925, after 111 flying hours. The aircraft were flown by Yoshihiko Abe and Hiroshi Kawachi, with engineers Shunichiro Shinohara and Shohei Katagiri. The flight covered roughly 16,565 kilometers over 10,000 miles

Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field on May 20, 1927, landing safely in landed at Le Bourget Aerodrome 33 hours and 30 minutes after leaving New, making him the first pilot to fly trans-Atlantic flight solo. The plane was a custom-built, single-engine monoplane designed for long-distance flight. Note that the Atlantic had been crossed before in 1919 by Alcock and Brown in a Vickers Vimy, but this was not solo and was Newfoundland to Ireland rather than spanning the mainland continents. In 1927 the US Congress authorized the creation of a gold medal to be presented to Lindbergh. This resolution also included a provision for the US Mint to strike up to 10 million bronze replicas of the medal for public distribution. Any profits over $500,000 were to be spent on aviation research. It is difficult to date this example of the replica medal they were produced over such a long period, however later ones have US Mint inscribed on the edge (this example does not). The medal was engraved by Laura Gardin Frazer, who by this time was already a celebrated sculptor and artist. In addition to the Lindberg medal she engraved the George C. Marshall and Benjamin Franklin Congressional Medals of Honour. Her husband, James Earle Fraser, was responsible for the design of the iconic buffalo nickel.

Herbert John Louis Hinkler, known as Bert Hinkler, was an Australian aviator born in Bundaberg, Queensland. He moved to England in 1913 to pursue aviation, working for the Sopwith Aviation Company.  On the outbreak of war in 1914 he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, earning the Distinguished Service Medal.  After the war he became a test pilot for A.V. Roe & Co. and developed aviation instruments still used decades later In February 1928, Hinkler completed the first solo flight from England to Australia, flying a lightweight Avro Avian biplane. He took off from Croydon, England, on February 7 1928 and landed in Darwin on February 22, 1928, covering roughly 11,000 miles in just under 16 days. This accomplishment shattered the previous record of 28 days and captivated both the British and Australian public, making Hinkler a national hero. In 1933 he attempted another solo flight from England to Australia to break a speed record.  Tragically, his plane crashed in the Tuscan mountains of Italy, where he was later found and buried with full military honours. This medal celebrates his 1928 flight. The obverse has his image and the reverse shows a map tracing his flight path, with the inscription LONDON TO DARWIN XVI DAYS and PRAEPETIBUS PINNIS AUSTRALES VECTUS AD ORAS  “Carried by swift wings to the southern shores”.   It was designed by Charles Douglas Richardson, an English artist who migrated to Australia in1858, serving two terms as the President of the Victorian Artists' Society (1918-1925, 1926 -1931).

In the early days of flight in Europe increases in height and distance that could be achieved by aeroplanes, which were often constructed by pilots themselves, was measured in feet.  The first monoplane that achieved successful flight managed only 40 feet on March 18, 1906.  Lord Northcliffe, a powerful British newspaper magnate played a significant role in promoting aviation during its formative years by offering cash prizes to achieve ever more aeronautic innovation.  On July 25th 1909 in a 37 minute flight in a Bleriot XI monoplane, Louis Bleriot made with a somewhat rough but triumphant landing near Dover Castle and claimed the £1000 prize offered by the Daily Mail. ​France was undoubtedly the leader in the earliest days of aviation and after the flight David Lloyd George, chancellor of the Exchequer, said, "Flying machines are no longer toys and dreams, they are established fact. The possibilities of this new system of locomotion are infinite. I feel, as a Britisher, rather ashamed that we are so completely out of it." This medal was designed by Charles Desvergnes for the Aeronautique Club de France.  He won in 1889 the First " Grand Prix de Rome " and the Silver Medal of the Paris 1900 Universal Exhibition.  The medal is a blank however we can date from an example in the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, which is inscribed on the reverse “Aviation fortnight at La Bate de Seine 25 August to 6 September 1910.”  There are other examples also having this inscription.  It was therefore a medal produced as, or was at least used as, a prize or souvenir of the French concours in Paris the year after Bleriot's ground-breaking flight. The Bate to Seine was an aviation meeting comprising multiple competitions and prize events over two weeks.  This included a 3‑day challenge to fly between Le Havre and Trouville and back, with 15-minute stops or five laps, highest-number-of-crossings wins. It was won by Hubert Latham and the constructors prize was won by Louis Bleriot (Latham had attempted the first crossing of the English Channel, flying an Antoinette IV, but was forced to ditch in the sea due to engine failure)

Aeronautique Club de France, stock prize plaquette, uniface, octagonal 65 x 45mm, bronze, unsigned. Edge marks BRONZE in a cartouche and a triangle. The Aéronautique Club de France (ACDF) was founded on 20 October 1897 by Jules Saunière, making it, by its own account, the oldest French aeronautical institution still in activity. There is at least one, unverified, reference to this medal being produced as a 40th anniversary medal.

This large medal depicts a Blériot XI. The frame of the approx. 7 m long monoplane was made of ash wood, which was braced and held together by means of steel wires; the wooden framework of the wings, which was 7.80 m long, was covered with fabric; two bicycle wheels served as chassis, and there was also a small rear wheel.  Françoise Montagny was a distinguished early-20th century French medallist working with the Paris Mint, notable for aviation-themed designs, and is listed in Volume III/263-264 of the Catalogue Illustre des Medailles de la Monnaie de Paris.  The blank cartouche on the reverse suggests that this medal was intended to be presented as an award and be further engraved, or as souvenir of one of the French concours,  the first of which had taken place in Rheims in 1909.  The medal was produced by Monnaie de Paris in 1912 and depicts a Bleriot XI monoplane, which was the first aircraft to successfully cross the English Channel, piloted by Louis Blériot on July 25, 1909. This achievement marked a major milestone in aviation, proving the viability of powered flight over long distances and challenging natural barriers. Its success demonstrated the potential for military and commercial aviation and spurred global interest in aircraft development.  The figure about the aeroplane is often described as Genius, traditionally appears on medals as a classical figure drawing on Greco-Roman iconography and here illustrated as a winged lady representing inspiration, speed, and intellect. A Paris landscape stretches out below. An example of this medal can be found in the British Museum collection, Ref: 1985,0329.36.

This commemorative bronze medal was engraved by the French artist J. Holy for the Aero Club de Cannes. It dates from the mid-1920s. The club was originally founded in 1907 (or 1909), making it among the oldest flying clubs in France.  The medal is potentially struck by Monnaie de Paris as there is a Bronze mark on the edge with an anciliary symbol, but it is not possible to determine if this is a cornucopia (used by the mint + Bronze prior to 1950).  I have not been able to find any information on the engraver.

Although Costes and Bellonte are frequently credited with the first east-to-west transatlantic crossing in 1930, this was due to their flight being from Paris to New York i.e. from continental Europe. This German medal celebrates the earlier 1928 flight Ireland to Canada by Von Hünefeld, Hermann Köhl, and James Fitzmaurice in a Junkers W 33, named the Bremen. The dispute on precedence mirrors that of the earlier west-to-west crossings, where Alcock and Brown accomplished the crossing from Canada to Ireland in 1919, a full eight years before Charles Lindburg’s more celebrated crossing in the Spirt of St Louis from New York to Paris. The Dublin to Greenly Island, Labrador, Canada flight, against the prevailing winds, took around 36 hours to complete. According to The Old Currency Exchange, Greenly Island was "small, barren and rocky. It was fortunate for the crew that the airplane landed in a peat bog. The relatively soft landing saved them but damaged the plane. The Bremen crew did not depart the island for two weeks as they attempted to repair the aircraft." Von Hünefeld was the pilot, with Fitzmaurice acting as a relief pilot and observer, rather than a dedicated navigator. You sometimes see the flight sponsor, Von Hünefeld, described as the navigator however he was not a trained aviator or navigator in a technical sense. The medal has the edge marking Bayer. Hauptmünzamt Silber 900 f. indicating minting at the Bavarian Main Mint and was designed by Philipp Kittler, a noted sculptor and medalist active around the turn of the 20th century. Many of his works remain on public display in Nuremberg and surrounding cities. The medal reverse has a poetic or somewhat archaic German expression conveying resilience, translated “Despite all forces, to persist”. How very Germanic that the medallist decided to omit the Irish co-pilot James Fitzmaurice! Fitzmaurice was born in Dublin in 1898 and served in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. After the war, Fitzmaurice returned to Ireland, where he joined the Irish Air Corps following the establishment of the Irish Free State. Fitzmaurice Place in Portlaoise is named in his honour.

The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) was officially established on March 28, 1923 as an independent service branch of the Royal Italian Armed Forces. This made Italy one of the first countries in the world to create an autonomous air force. Italy was a pioneer in military aviation, being the first to use of aircraft in combat (during the Italo-Turkish War (1911–12) in Libya). This medal was minted in 1933 (year XI of the Fascist Era) to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Regia Aeronautica. On the obverse depicts Benito Mussolini decorating a flag, on the reverse a flight of planes with the phrase “This wing will no longer be broken”. The medal was designed by Publio Morbiducci who designed several aviation-related medals, particularly during the Fascist era in Italy (1920s–1940s), when aviation achievements were strongly promoted by the regime as symbols of technological and national prowess. This signature can be seen on the bottom left field of the reverse.

This medal was produced in 1924 on the occasion of the first flight to the Dutch East Indies by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines , 1924. The medal shows a Fokker VII above Amsterdam, the coat of arms of Amsterdam and the date 10 Oct. 1924. The inscription is the names of the three pilots: 'A . N . J . THOMASSEN A . THUESSINK VAN DER HOOP . H . VAN WEERDEN POELMAN . P . A . VAN DEN BROEKE'. On the reverse si a depiction of an eagle with the city of Batavia and the coat of arms of Batavia underneath and the inscription: 'COURAGE DARE PERSEVERANCE'. Slightly less impressive is that the flight took 55 days to cover the 15,000 km, with multiple stops in southern Europe, the middle east, India and southeast Asia before finally reaching Batavia, the colonial capital of the Dutch East Indies. However it was the first intercontinental air route between Europe and Southeast Asia and demonstrated that regular air service was technically possible, with an air service starting up five years later which at the time was the world's longest scheduled air route. The same year saw the first England - Australia military flight, taking 28 days in a Vickers Vimy (twin engine bomber). However the KLM flight is usually credited as the birth of systematic long-haul commercial aviation The medal was designed by Eduard Hüttl (1893-1938), an Austrian artist who is part of the Viennese medallist tradition, working between 1905 and 1930.