Welcome to Rare Antiques Collectibles and Memorabilia.
When a dubious salesman is trying to sell you a well worn out medal. I'll bet he's going to say that there are two collectible types of medals. One that is in mint condition and one that has frayed ribbon and such.
It is advisable that if you collect medals, it should be in pristine condition.
Medals were issued first to certain officers for distinguished services during the civil war, but the first general issue of medals to British forces was the 1816 Waterloo medals.
Because medal collecting is quite popular, it is also riddled with fake copies. like for instance a medal with many bars, which on the aesthetic point of view is desirable but you have to know , do the bars belong to that particular decoration?
The name or the number of the recipient might be substituted. so it is really essential that you go buy and read a book about medal collecting, subscribe to medal collecting magazine, join an organization and get yourself acquainted to military history, before you start collecting.
Most of the British war and campaign medals, up to the second world war, bear the name, number, rank and the regiment or unit of the receiver.With the assistance of the public record office, regimental units and museums you can build up a dossier of the holder of a particular medal .
This way you can make a medal appreciate in value. If you are all bent in such research you can beaver away on several medals at the same time, creating individual files for each.
The depth of your research depends on you. It could be anything from a record of the action in which the medal was won to a comprehensive life story of the holder.
Experienced medal collectors advocate on specializing on a particular period, specific regiment or medal type and concentrate on these.
Remember for all your collecting ideas drop by Rare Antiques Collectibles and Memorabilia.
