Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very interesting George VI-era example of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal, accompanied by a matching miniature medal. The full-size decoration bears the portrait of King George VI on the obverse while retaining the earlier George V-pattern reverse, placing it among the earliest and least numerous George VI varieties of this long-running Canadian decoration. Unlike officially issued examples, however, the rim of this medal is presently unengraved, making it impossible to identify a recipient and raising the possibility that it was never issued or that its original naming was removed at some point.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal was established in 1934 during the reign of King George V. It may be awarded to RCMP officers, non-commissioned officers, and constables of irreproachable character who complete at least 20 years of service with good conduct. It remains the oldest continuously awarded honour in the Canadian honours system and was the first Canadian honour created specifically to recognize service performed by Canadians within Canada.

The medal originated after years of advocacy by members of the Royal North-West Mounted Police Veterans’ Association, with support from senior RCMP leadership and the Canadian government. The first presentation ceremony took place at Cartier Drill Hall in Ottawa in March 1935, shortly after the decoration’s creation.

This is a very scarce example of the RCMP Long Service medal from the reign of George VI. The majority of these you see will have Elizabeth II, but this is from the 1936-1948 period, with the George VI front and George V back. This medal was unique in the history of the Canadian honours system. For the first time an honour was created to reward the service of Canadians serving within Canada. Previous awards for service in Canada, like the Canada General Service Medal were presented to both Canadian and British personnel.

Only 384 of these medals were awarded under George VI with the George V reverse. This example has the George V reverse, and is one of those 384 awarded. This example however is now unengraved, either worn away intentionally or never engraved to begin with.

The medal comes with its original ribbon though it now has a small bit of fraying. Also included is the mini-medal version, with the original ribbon sewn into place. There is some minor tarnishing to the planchet.

The George VI / George V reverse combination is the most historically interesting feature of this example. It represents the transitional period after the death of George V, when the new sovereign’s portrait was introduced before the reverse design was subsequently updated. The survival of both the full-size medal and miniature makes this an appealing representation of an early George VI RCMP long-service award.