Medal Of 18th November 1963.

[medals73]

Medal for 18 November 1963 (Arabic name not known.)

Awarded to commemorate the 18 November 1963 takeover of all powers the government by General Abd al-Salam Muhammad Arif, Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Arif, and Colonel Said Slaibi and the creation of a new Revolutionary Command Council in Baghdad. In effect, this represented the expulsion of the Ba’ath Party from the uneasy coalition which had overthrown General Qasim in February 1963. This medal apparently fell out of favor and off the chests of serving soldiers after the Ba’ath return to power in 1968.

Established: Manufactured by Huguenin (Le Loche, Switzerland).

Obverse: A 41-mm (on each side) triangular bronze-gilt medal with a yellow-enameled sunburst design. In the center, the Iraqi emblem in red enamel and, below, the enameled Arabic legend “18 Teshrin Al-Thani 63 [C.E.]” or “18 November 63”; the numbers are in red enamel while the name of the month is green-enameled. Suspended from the ribbon by an integral horizontal loop. Manufactured by Hugelin (Le Loche, Switzerland).

Reverse: Plain, except for the maker’s mark near the top: “HUGUENIN / SWISS MADE”.

Ribbon: 35-mm, yellow with 5-mm red edge stripes: 5 mm red, 25 mm yellow, 5 mm red.