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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Antiques and Collectibles Articles   Follow the arrows to other stories Medal Collecting - Part 1: Getting Started   By Roy Bassett Medals issued around the world come in all shapes and sizes, but have only two purposes - to be worn and not to be worn.   Medals not intended to be worn are usually in the shape of a coin, while medals suspended on a ribbon and meant to be worn are in many different shapes and sizes.   And, from the start, you should be aware of three types of medals that show up in stores, online auctions and in the hands of dealers - genuine, copies and fakes. More on those later.   Novice collectors might assume medals are awarded only to men and women serving in the military, but they will soon discover they are awarded for a variety of reasons to people in all walks of life and, in some cases, to animals.   But all medals must be earned in one way or another.   The decision a novice collector has to make is which medals to collect. It is not practical to collect one specimen of all medals ever minted, so you should specialize in one or two areas. In most cases, you will be restricted by cost and availability.   So, for starters, zero in on medals in categories that interest you, including Police, Fraternal Organizations, Boy Scouts, Civilian Awards, Jubilee, Life Saving, Animal Awards, Coronation, Victory Medals etc.   Or you could collect medals awarded to your own regiment, ones associated with relatives, long service medals, medals to army, naval or air force personnel, medals to females and the list goes on.   I knew a collector who collected only medals awarded to military personnel of high rank only, such as Lt. Colonel and above, which are some of the most expensive in military collecting.   My recommendation, if you decide on collecting military medals, first chose a country and a section of the military, be it army, navy, marine, air force, special forces etc. Values vary according to rarity, number awarded, rank of recipient and condition.   Military medals are awarded for bravery, long service, meritorious service, participation in combat in a specific zone (campaign medals), end of a war victory, monarch's coronation, jubilee and birthday. In some countries, military personnel are entitled to be awarded civilian medals such as life saving and bravery awards while not actually in a war situation.   But before you buy your first medal, borrow or buy books on your chosen medals of interest. You could also join one of the many medal clubs across the province to speak with more experienced members and get a feeling for the medals you want to own and what your budget can handle.   Fakes vs copies You can never be too educated in any field of collecting, but when it comes to fake medals, ignorance can cost you thousands of dollars. Being conned into buying a fake medal can also deflate your interest in collecting. There are books on this subject, so use your pre-buying time to read, digest and then read some more.   I was in a Niagara Falls store recently looking at RCMP service medals and coins.Under glass at the counter were several 1973 Canadian quarters known as the Mountie quarter. They were OK, but overpriced.   And then I saw an RCMP long service medal. Wow, it was only about $75. I knew if genuine, it would be worth between $400 and $600. I asked the attendant if it was genuine and she assured me it was.   I asked to look at it closely and it became obvious it was not genuine, but a well made fake which would fool most people, especially U.S. visitors. I told the attendant it should not be sold as genuine. A case of buyer beware.   But don't confuse "fake" with "copy." There are numerous legitimate copies of medals on the market. They are sold at a much lower price than the genuine medal and must be engraved with the word "copy," or a word with the same meaning.   Copies can include tailors' copies, where a military person would purchase copies of medals he is entitled to and wear them on parade instead of the genuine medals.   When you consider a British Victoria Cross has a value well over $100,000, it is advisable to keep the genuine medal in a safety deposit box and wear the copy.   There are also miniature copies of medals, usually worn on dress uniforms. They are easily distinguished from the genuine medals by their size. This is an area of medal collecting favoured by many collectors.   An important part of medal collecting is to identify to whom the medal was awarded and, in most cases, a great deal of library and Internet research is required.   Some countries issued/awarded medals engraved with the recipient's name, rank, number and service. The majority of these medals are easier to research using the records of the appropriate government to confirm entitlement. The majority of collectors consider medals an investment and most hold their value well and do increase year by year.   One example of value: in 1982, the South Atlantic Medal was issued to approximately 30,000 British troops for the Falkland War. The value of these medals start at about $700, but there were a small number awarded to members of the Parachute Regiment and the value of their medals starts at about $1,600.   Another example: if 40 members of the regiment to which you collect were sent to Kuwait in 1990 and were involved in the liberation of Kuwait, they would have received the Gulf Medal 1990-1991, with one of the two bars sanctioned for that service.   A well-read collector would know that no other member of the regiment could ever be awarded that medal. If you were able to obtain one, it would costs you $500 or more.   As a comparison, more than 45,000 Gulf medals were awarded to British forces and you can buy one of those medals for about $300. Remember, the higher the rank of the recipient, be that of corporal and above, the more rare the medal. There are fewer sergeants than privates; there are fewer captains than sergeants and so on.   Still, with all of this information, I have barely scratched the surface of medal collecting. In my next article: My start in medal collecting and medals awarded during World War 1.   Roy Bassett is a veteran of the British army (1950's) and a retired Toronto policeman. He can be reached at ninelancer@sympatico.ca   Other articles by Roy Bassett   Collecting medals: WW1   Collecting Medals: How I got started   Collecting police badges   Remembering Dr. John McCrae   Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2007 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster