Italy WWI RN Nino Bixio Protected Cruiser Patriotic Medal 1911 in Silver by Johnson

Italy: WW1 Silver Commemorative Medal of the 
Protected Cruiser RN Nino Bixio - the lead ship 
of the Class. 
In silver, signed by Johnson, Milan.
The medal was circulated in commemoration of 
the launching ceremony of the ship in 1911.
Obverse: RN Nino Bixio. 
Inscribed "Fare o Morire" (Latin for: Act or Die)
Reverse: The Italian Coat of Arms.
Inscribed: "RN Nino Bixio"
The Nino Bixio-class was a group of 2 protected 
cruisers built for the Italian Navy (Regia Marina) 
in the 1910s - the second ship was RN Marsala. 
RN Nino Bixio (named after General Gerolamo 
"Nino" Bixio, a patriot and politician, one of the 
most prominent figures in the Italian Unification) 
was launched in 1911 and was completed in 1914.
She served during WW1 but just like the rest of 
the Italian Fleet, the ship's activities were limited 
due to the threat of the Austro-Hungarian 
submarines and mines.
RN Nino Bixio, Marsala, and the cruiser Quarto 
were based at Brindisi during the war, where 
they could patrol the path from the narrow 
Adriatic to the Mediterranean.
During one of those patrols in Dec. 1915 RN Nino 
Bixio briefly engaged the Austro-Hungarian 
Cruiser SMS Helgoland.
RN Nino Bixio was stricken from the naval register 
in 1929 and subsequently was broken up for scrap.
A scarce medal.

FULL SIZE

1910 - pre World War 1 1914 -1918 

Item 100% original

Condition as on the photos
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