Purple Heart.

Found this on a carboot sale a few years ago here in the UK.

Probably not unusual to find in the USA but here a little rarer.

 

Nice. Is there a name on the back?

 

No name engraved on the back of the heart.

 

Hi,
These were sold in Army Navy surplus stores in the 1960s/70s. I bought a dozen of them and made a wonderful necklace for a older friend who loved purple and gold. If there is no name on the edge rim or back I am quite sure it was a surplus thing.
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I have one that is named from a soldier who fought in WW1, but the award was not given until the 1940s. It's referred to as a 're-issue.' I've got a number of documents and the original mailing box from it as well that all have matching IDs. Also included was a newspaper clipping that mentions the soldier's name and when it was presented to him.

 

Thanks for these very interesting replies, I know there is a lot of these around.
I did wonder why it seems genuine but yet does not have any name on the back.

 

It would only have a name on it if issued to the wounded military member.

 

I saw my uncle’s once (he’s buried in France-KIA during WWII), passed down through the family & it was in much worse shape. Fraying of the ribbon, etc. so my guess is that a real one from that era would also show some age.

 

That's unfortunate. The one that I came across is pristine, which is surprising because the caretakers didn't take care of it, and it was just tossed in a box with miscellaneous home items.