Sooner or later every military medal collector will sell medals on eBay or some other form of indirect sale where the condition of the medal must be described.

First thing to keep in mind is that medals were made to be worn so condition is not as important as it is with coins. Also many military medal collectors are not familiar with basic coin grades; F, VF, EF, Unc, BU. I use my own system which has worked very well for me and is based on the word ‘used’ like very nice used, slightly used or near mint. In addition any flaws must be described including any problems with the ribbon. I use near mint even for medals in mint condition because I don’t have the time or patience to argue, with every wisenheimer and novice collector, that not every medal is flawless at the time of issue. This is especially true when the medal is made by a private manufacturer. A prime example is the WWII service medal from Utica New York that I currently have listed on eBay and which is illustrated below. At first glance it appears to be worn or cast but the medal is actually in near mint condition! What makes the medal look so misleading is that it is a weak strike that was struck from pitted dies. If that wasn’t bad enough it was then given an antique golden bronze finish in an attempt to make it look like it was made with a higher grade of metal. The weak strike is most likely due to the fact that the center of the medal is much thicker than the arms which also slope downward and away from the center. Since this is one of the most common of the WWII local issue service medals I am sure that there were at least two production runs. Between the production runs the dies were probably stored on a shelf somewhere and quickly became rusted. Rust when removed leaves pitting and the cleaning also softens the resulting image giving the newly struck medals a worn and cast look. When the false finish was applied to the medal even more detail was lost. The fact that this medal is on a crimped broach proves to me that this medal was not part of the original 1946 production run. So as we can all see, the grading of military medals requires some thought and technical knowledge. It also helps to be a numismatist.

Well the Iola Vintage Military Show has come and gone and yes it was a great show this year. The crowds looked as good as ever to me so the high gas prices didn't keep people away. As usual I met a lot of old friends and interesting veterans who freely shared their historical memories. Our stressed economy has not hit the military collecting hobby as hard as expected and the high prices can still put a long time collector like me into sticker shock. I did over hear some dealers talking about a tighter market and slower sales but as of yet I am still having no trouble selling stuff on eBay and eCrater so maybe their prices are just too high.  From an exhibiters point of view it is very gratifying year after year to watch so many people stop and actually take the time to read the text of my exhibits. As a long time medal collector I am sorry to say that I couldn't find anything to add to my collection. Prices were not the problem here; there simply was nothing that I saw that I needed or wanted. I couldn’t even find a Marine Corps Good Conduct miniature medal to replace the one my father-in-law lost from his group. On a related topic I see that the local sheriffs deputies are not wearing metal badges any more. All the badges I saw were thin cloth patch like badges that are sewn or stenciled on their shirts. The USO style show by Chicago's Honey Bears on Saturday evening, was great even though the sound level was so high that one couldn't understand most of the words in the songs. One bit of news gleaned from the show was that an old American WWII glider was found in Northern Michigan and is being restored in Wausau Wisconsin. I'll keep you posted as they are planning a dedication event when the restoration is completed.

Most collectors know what is going to happen to their medal collections after or even before they die. Most will have the collection sold and they will rest easy knowing that the medals are being well cared for by other collectors. Some collectors and veterans will toy with the idea of donating their medals to a museum of some sort. As I have said many times before most museums are not too thrilled with donated medals and coins though few will refuse to accept them. A little over a week ago I was traveling through Southeastern Wisconsin and visited three fine museums. All were really nice and had good dedicated staffs but one really proved my point. The museum had an extensive local history of WWII exhibit including uniforms worn by local vets along with their recorded voices telling of their war time experiences. In the far back corner was a locked display cabinet with a glass shelf upon which a small hoard of medals pins and insignia were scattered about willy-nilly with many items upside down or sideways and absolutely nothing attributed. I tracked down the lady in charge and asked her if she would like to know what the items were? “No” she said , “I know what they are.” Then why isn’t any of it labeled? I asked her. “Labels would just distract from the exhibit” she replied. “We just wanted to show what kind of souvenirs the guys brought back” she continued. “Oh” I said, “but what about all the US items?” A slight frown then arose over her face and she shot back “I didn’t really want to bother with that stuff but I couldn’t leave that shelf empty.” Well at that point I figured I had better leave well enough alone. After all if she was responsible for the rest of the museum’s displays she had earned a 90% positive score overall. So I thanked her and said good bye all the while thinking how much I wished that every veteran who thinks that his medals would be better off in a museum could see the exhibit and talk to the boss lady. If you want to see how I think medals should be displayed come to the Iola Vintage Military Show this weekend and take a look at some of my exhibits.