Description
This is a special gold pin that came together with the personal car pennant of Italian General Annibale Bergonzoli nicknamed “barba elettrica” and/or “Electric Whiskers”! The here for sale pin is of the same design as the collar patches and hat emblem that Bergonzoli shows in many pictures and that is also visible on his personal car pennant -> the helberd, the crosses swords.
The stickpin is of gold color and it is triple hallmarked on the back. In all honesty i have no clue if it is real gold or not. The pin is as far as im aware the only of it’s kind known. I suspect it to be some kind of honorpin related to Bergonzoli.
Please look at the pictures. Experienced collectors of memorabilia related to Italian general Annibale Bergonzoli will probably know what they look at. This can be the bargain of the year, i just hope it ends up with the right collector or museum.
An unique piece of both Italian and Spanish wartime history!!!!
A little background:
Between 1936 and 1939, Bergonzoli was ordered by Benito Mussolini to Spain, forming part of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie, in support of General Francisco Franco and the military rebels during the Spanish Civil War, with Bergonzoli taking charge of the 4th Infantry Division Littorio.
After the defeat suffered by the Italian troops at the battle of Guadalajara, he was the only Italian general posted to Spain who was not replaced by Benito Mussolini.
For his performance in the capture of Santander during the northern campaign, he received an Italian decoration, the Gold Medal of Military Valour. Throughout his career he received two other Silver and one Bronze Medals. He was one of the architects of the so-called Pact of Santoña, by which the Italians accepted the agreed surrender of the Republican People’s Army militants affiliated to the Basque Nationalist Party. He also participated in the Aragon Offensive against the troops of the Republican Popular Army.
More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annibale_Bergonzoli
When one googles his name many thousands of hits show up.
