UNITED STATES ARMY CERTIFICATE OF MERIT MEDAL. The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal replaced the much older Certificate of Merit which was authorized by the United States Congress on March 3, 1847. In 1905, a medal was created for those holding a Certificate of Merit and called the Certificate of Merit Medal. This medal was authorized for wear on a United States military uniform. It was always worn following the Medal of Honor, before all campaign medals. The first recipient of the Certificate of Merit Medal was First Lieutenant William B. Baker, who was presented medal No. 1 on 30 December 1907. Baker had received an original Certificate of Merit as a Corporal during the Spanish-American War on 13 August 1898. The last act recognized by a Certificate of Merit was May 1918, when Corporal Paul Scaletta made a water rescue of soldiers in dangerous surf conditions at Ocean Beach, California. The last soldier to be awarded the Certificate of Merit Medal was George Arrington for his service while a Private with the 24th Infantry Regiment in 1889. He was awarded medal No. 361 and subsequently converted it to a Distinguished Service Cross. Do not miss it! Certificate of Merit Medal. +Made in USA Medal Case. Diameter of the Medal: about 33mm. A fantastic part of US military history is not to be missed at this low listing price. It would be extremely hard to find a much better example than these medals, medals weigh a bit!! Tmedals-com – only top quality medals – since 2002.