If you’ve read the posts on Identify Medals, there’s a good chance you fall in either of two categories: 1)) you’re a collector, or) you’re looking to become one. If the latter is the case then this article will provide you an outline of the best way to begin collecting medals, so that it becomes an enjoyable and rewarding hobby!
1. Find Out How to Approach
The first step to begin with collecting medals is to determine the method you’ll use. Instead of splurging on medals, you’ll want to think about what kinds of medals you’d prefer to discover. It will allow you to to narrow your attention.
Coin World suggests that you should consider one of the following ways to collect your medals:
Create an Set
Collect an Artist
The focus is on an individual subject
Profile and Event
I’d suggest that for medals from the military it is the most effective to follow one of the four method for collecting medals.
To illustrate the first method one could create an assortment of medals from one specific country or war. If you’re planning to begin with a small amount, creating an array of Civil War medals is a excellent place to begin because, if you have a memory from an earlier post, you only need two medals to make the complete set!
In contrast, you may prefer not to begin by making a collection of USSR or Third Reich medals because you’ll have plenty to accumulate! But if you’re looking for it to become a lifelong project, you might want to begin with a bigger collection.
In the fourth option, you could concentrate on a specific battle from an war or area. For instance, you might wish to keep all the decorations and medals which were presented in Northern France in World War I.
This is probably not the best option for medals from the military, unless you enjoy the style of an artist, you can focus on collecting all medals of a specific soldier like Erwin Rommel, for example.
I believe that this is the most enjoyable way to collect army badges and medals. If you pair campaign medals with individual awards it will put the individual story of a soldier’s story, which makes it an historical collection of medals that any collector would be proud of.
Additionally, you might think about joining the local museum, and put an exhibit of a brief description of the service member you served with and lending your medals to museums for a short period of time. This is a good method to discover the meaning behind your collection. Personally, I’d love this method as it will tell a tale and who doesn’t enjoy stories?
2. Find out more about your event, individual or war.
Once you’ve figured out how you’re going to approach medal collecting, I’d encourage you to read up on your event/individual/war. This may be an interesting idea, considering that it appears to have nothing to have anything to do with medals. However, by reading up and visiting museums that pertain to your event/individual/war, you’ll have a better idea of what medals to look for.
For instance I’m a massive historian with a special passion for World War II, and If I ever do decide to get into the world of medal collecting (I am currently collecting one! ) I’d definitely keep track of awards from World War II. However, there are a lot of that I’m always studying more.
For instance, I went to the Airborne Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina recently and learned about seven new medals I’d never heard about before. Being informed about your individual or event will not only provide you with new ideas for medals you can discover but will also make the process less grueling as well as more fun.
3. Utilize a variety of sources to locate medals
Thanks to the internet, there are numerous options available to you in order to find medals. You can purchase medals on the internet from auction houses like, eBay, or even the links we have on our website on Identify Medals.
Of course the most important thing is to ensure that you purchase from trustworthy dealers to avoid counterfeit medals. It is possible to browse in the Medal News magazine as well as the annual Medal Yearbook to get an idea of the kinds of medals available, and at what cost you need to pay.
Dan Wade from JustCollecting, an online trading site, advises collectors of medals to ask questions about the story behind the medal and how the seller came to get their medal and then look for the item in person (if it is possible! ).
If you’re willing to put in some time looking for something, explore garage/yard sale, antique fairs auctions and thrift stores and fairs for collectors of medals. If you attend any of them events, it’s somewhat than finding a diamond in the rough. And you will not be able to get anything if you’re in search of a particular medal.
If you’re willing to exploring what’s available and don’t have a particular medal in mind locations like antique fairs and flea markets could be excellent options since they’re most likely to be a little more affordable.
A side note Be sure to make sure you pay the correct price. Find out what factors cause the differences in price for medals. The contest that led to the medal being awarded, the form that the award was presented, quality of the medal, as well as the quality of the medal all affect the cost of a medal.
If the medal is in excellent condition however the ribbon isn’t, you could find a new ribbon. However, you should keep the original ribbon in case you decide to ever sell the medal, or for the sake of posterity.
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