Tourist Merit Medal and Miniature, Silver Category. Solid Silver. With Award Diploma.

Attractive and valuable set of Medal and Miniature of Tourist Merit, Silver Category. This distinction was awarded to José Antonio Serrano Montalvo in 1965, and it is in good condition. José Antonio Serrano Montalvo was a distinguished politician in pro-Franco Spain, especially in the 1960s. He was a Local Chief of the Spanish University Sindicate (SEU), and afterwards he became Civil Governor of Lerida and Tarragona. In the end of his career he was also a counsel of the extinct National Press Delegation. This sober distinction, composed of two pieces made of solid silver, is accompanied by a personalized Diploma of Award on which we can read the handwritten name of the awarded and the signature of then Spanish Minister of Information and Tourism, Manuel Fraga Iribarne. It also has the stamps of Franco government and of the own distinction. This Diploma increases a lot its high value. Both pieces are made of silver and at the rear of the medal we can see two contrasts. At the front, the medal and the miniature show an embossed motive depicting a Paleolithic bison that is painted in the Cave of Altamira, while at the rear of the medal we can read the inscription Ministerio de Información y Turismo España (Ministry of Information and Tourism Spain) in capital letters, also embossed. The medal hangs from a white band with red and yellow stripes. The Tourist Merit Medal is a civil honorary distinction, created in 1963. It is offered to individuals (Spanish and foreigners) who have given outstanding services to the country in the touristic field, and who are always proposed by the Minister of Tourism. It is a prestigious medal with a high historical relevance, which is increased by the Diploma that accompanies it, signed by an important Spanish politician of the second half of the 20th century. All these features make of this magnificent piece a wonderful acquisition for any lover of Spanish contemporary history.