Italy - 1915 Silver SS Dante Alighieri Launch Medal

Offered is a charming 23mm silver medal, issued in 1915 to commemorate the launching of the SS Dante Alighieri, a ship of the Transatlantica Italiana line which serviced the New York route, with service to Lisbon, Gibraltar, the Azores, and Boston. Not long after her maiden voyage, in 1917, she was chartered by the US Navy as a troop transport, returning to her old passenger services in 1919. In 1928, she was sold to the Japanese and renamed Asahi Maru before being converted into a hospital ship in 1937. She was badly damaged by the USS John D Ford in 1942, and eventually abandoned following a collision in 1944. She was finally scrapped in 1949.

The medal itself is of fine style, and bears a wonderful depiction of the vessel on the reverse. These silver versions are much scarcer than their bronze counterparts, with this example remaining in very solid condition for the type. In all, a piece for the naval or medal collector alike!