14k/10k "Ancient Order of the Beefeaters" Medals

Description

Quite a curious group, the "Ancient Order of the Beefeaters" was a gourmet club of wealthy professionals who gathered twice a year to celebrate the bond between England and the United States. The Beefeaters were founded in the US by Rudy C. Kopf, retired chairman of the Kobrand Corporation, sole importers of Beefeaters Gin into the US.
While having 1,000 members, their twice a year dinners were limited to approximately 50 members on a first come, first served basis. The evening was filled with English food and drink, and a ,000 literary prize was awarded for the best work on "British-American relations." Every fifth year, a dinner was held in London.
The club did give "pewter, silver and gold decorations for such milestones as a yeoman's first dinner, the day he is made a reeve (a manager) and then a warder, the occasion of his 10th and 25th dinners and his attendance at the Tower of London dinners."
The "Beefeater" medal offered here was likely awarded for attending one of the Tower of London dinners. We're not sure when the other medal would have been awarded. Somewhat odd is the fact that a club that celebrates England would have a French motto, "tout va bien", on one of their medals. (But when translated - "everything's fine" - it fits with the group's mission completely.)
Our "Beefeater" pin is 3-1/2" long with the medallion portion measuring 1-1/8" x 3/4" with a total weight (including ribbon and base-metal pin) of 8.3 grams.
The "Ancient Order" is 3" long with the medallion measuring 15/16" x 7/8" with a total weight (including ribbon and base metal pin) of 7.3 grams.
Both medals were made by Herff Jones.
The medals could easily be detached and used as pendants or charms. Both show minor signs of wear (more so on the "Ancient Order" medal).
Please ask questions prior to bidding.
Item will ship USPS Priority with Insurance.
The quoted information came from a NY Times article Nov. 10, 1982.   We can not find any current information on club.