Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very attractive original WWII Italo-German Africa Campaign Medal, known in German as the Medaille für den Italienisch-Deutschen Feldzug in Afrika and in Italian as the Medaglia commemorativa della campagna italo-tedesca in Africa. Commonly called the Afrika Korps Medal by collectors, this distinctive award was introduced in 1942 to commemorate the joint German and Italian campaign in North Africa. German personnel serving with the Afrika Korps were permitted to wear the medal as a foreign decoration.

This example is especially appealing because it retains a substantial amount of its original bronze-colored finish, which has mellowed considerably with age. The raised areas retain a warm golden-bronze tone, while darker toning and traces of verdigris have developed within the recessed details, giving the medal a pleasing sense of age and depth.
One face displays the medal's memorable allegorical scene of two armored soldiers representing Germany and Italy struggling with a crocodile, the animal symbolizing the British Empire and the common enemy faced by Axis forces in North Africa. The design is particularly striking with the figures, crocodile head, and surrounding details remaining very well defined.

The opposite face features the monumental Arco dei Fileni, the large triumphal arch formerly located on Libya's coastal Via Balbia. It is flanked by the Italian fasces on one side and the German swas, on the other, with the Savoy knot beneath the arch. Around the perimeter is the bilingual inscription:

CAMPAGNA ITALO-TEDESCA IN AFRICA
 ITALIENISCH-DEUTSCHER FELDZUG IN AFRIKA

or "Italo-German Campaign in Africa."

The medal remains complete with its distinctive ribbon incorporating the national colors of both wartime Italy and Germany: green, white, red, white, and black. The ribbon displays honest age, including light soiling, minor pulls, and expected handling wear, but remains complete and presents extremely well with the medal.

No manufacturer or designer marking is readily visible on this particular example. The best-known medals were produced by Lorioli of Milan from a design by Roberto De Marchis, although period examples are also encountered without the familiar Lorioli markings. Early examples were produced in bronze, while later wartime versions are known in less expensive alloys with applied bronze-colored finishes.

Following Italy's withdrawal from the Axis alliance in 1943, the political circumstances surrounding Italian decorations changed dramatically. German regulations issued on March 29, 1944 prohibited the continued wearing of Italian awards, with the Africa Campaign Medal specifically falling under the restriction.