Aztec Club of 1847 Mexican War Veteran’s Medal in 14 Karat Gold by Bailey, Banks and Biddle

Excellent condition. The enamel is without chips or cracks and the ribbon is very clean. The medal has a slot brooch suspension and the suspension ring is marked as 14 Karat gold and it also bears the “BB&B” mark of the Philadelphia jewelry firm of Bailey, Banks & Biddle.

The Aztec Club of 1847 is, in terms of its age, the second ranking American patriotic hereditary society, only coming after the Society of the Cincinnati. Included in the roster of the original members, which lists some 160 military officers are, in the words of K. Jack Baurer, “most of the major figures of the Mexican War army and a large group whose fame would come a decade and a half later as leaders of the Union and Confederate Armies in the Struggle of 1861-1865. It is the only military society to which Robert E. Lee belonged. By an Act of Congress, its medal is to this day authorized for wear on American military uniforms. It exists as a hereditary organization comprised of members who can trace a direct lineal connection to those who were originally eligible.