Pact of steel medallion

[Duzig]

Here’s an item I picked up just lately & would like to show and get any info or opinions on it. On another forum, a member told me that it is to commemorate Hitler’s visit to Italy & that is was minted in 1938 by the Lorioli brothers. I could not find anything like it for sale although I did find an article online called “The Changing Face of the Enemy in Fascist Italy” by Marla Stone which I downloaded from a group called Academia.edu that mentioned this item & gave some information as to the what the various symbols on it represent. I have attached a few pictures of this medallion and an excerpt from the above mentioned article. If anyone has another item like this or any other information regarding it, it is much appreciated. It is quite a heavy item for it’s size, weighing in at just under 7 ounces and it’s diameter is roughly 2 ½ inches. Here is an excerpt from the article mentioning this medallion:
“In May 1938, Filippo Sgarlata minted a medallion in honor of Adolf Hitler’s state visit to Rome, Naples, and Florence. Its theme is triumph over a monstrous foe. On one side, a Winged Victory carries a swastika and a fascio littorio in her arms, flanked by the inscription Vis Unita Fortior (Power is Strengthened by Union). On the obverse, Hercules battles the three-headed dog, Cerberus. The capture of the Hellhound Cerberus, who guarded the gates of Hades, was the twelfth and most arduous task assigned to Hercules by Eurystheus. According to the myth, Hercules wrestled the dog, with its lion’s claws and serpents tail, into submission and dragged it out of Hades. Here, the Axis battles the forces of hell. Fascism’s enemy is a supernatural monster associated with the fires of hell. Cerberus is a hybrid of multiple animals and a monstrous freak of nature. But, fear not, the medallion guarantees, the Winged Victory of one side will triumph in the Herculean battle with the demons of Hell on the flip side. This representation of the enemy, targeted at an elite audience of party faithful, depends upon classical mythology and an aesthetic of Romanita` (Romaness). Romanita`, in fascist ideology and culture, was the celebration and emulation of the Roman Empire and the explicit connection between it and the fascist empire.45 As Rome had defeated the barbarians, so would its modern-day equivalent, fascist Italy.”
There is also a picture of this medallion shown in that article.
Thanks for taking a look
Duzig(Bill)