DutchBoy Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 Can someone enlighten me please? I've bought a couple of US medals recently on eBay (Bronze & Silver Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit). They are modern production unissued medals. My question is: Are these the same medals that are issued to the troops, or are these somehow different? They are advertised as being made by the same manufacturers that deliver to the US military, but does that mean they are the same as the issued ones? I thought I'd ask first before committing to buy more.Please help,Matthijs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Haynes Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 For a long time, there have been no US-Mint-issued medals, so, I guess, no "official" medals. They come from "official" suppliers/manufacturers. They sell like crazy, on and off the internet, even on eBay. As with French or Belgian medals (or even German medals) what is "real" and what is not? The question is what is "period", but from which period??Unless you have a named (officially??) medal or a documented group {"group?) you never know and even then you may not.So much easier in the UK where the mint makes and disatributres medals.But if current lunatic "patriotic" congressional legislation succeeds, all trade in US medals will be stopped (at least for US citizens), so . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Darrell Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 (edited) But if current lunatic "patriotic" congressional legislation succeeds, all trade in US medals will be stopped (at least for US citizens), so . . . . .... BUY BUY BUY .... that's my motto ... I've been saying it for a while now ... there will be a day when the horde of cheap stuff will no longer be available for sale Maybe modern ... but ... it wont matter then will it? Edited September 14, 2006 by Darrell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBFloyd Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 They are exactly the same. The manufacturers are authorized by the US government to sell medals and they do.There is no reason for the manufacturer to make two runs of medals, one for the government and one for the retail market.For many years, manufacturers were able to bid for government medal contracts at extremely low prices, knowing that their profit would come from retail sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchBoy Posted September 15, 2006 Author Share Posted September 15, 2006 Thanks everyone,Your info has been invaluable to me! Considering the unissued ones are MANY times cheaper than issued ones means one can build up a very comprehensive collection in a short time with relatively little money. Then again, nothing beats a nice issued one from WW2! Let me expand my collection then before it's too late...Matthijs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Darrell Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 ....Then again, nothing beats a nice issued one from WW2! Let me expand my collection then before it's too late...Matthijs. Then again ... why does everyone think that ALL medals were made in WW1 and WW2 and anything made recently are modern copies? I agree, the best (more pleasing AND valuable medals) are original issues.HOWEVER .. a great many of the newer modern issues are THAT .. new and modern ... many only created in the last 20 years or so ... Pretty hard to find WW2 issues of them .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunyadi Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I would chime in here - thre are still great finds on Ebay and other places that are sometimes the smae price or even cheaper than the modern strikes beong sold at wholesale. If you know what to look for. My favorite one to collect that seems to be over looked is the Korean War clear plastic issue cased medals. Most of the time you find WW2 stock in them and an odd case to boot . Another favorite of mine are Vietnam era Arrow cases with WW2 parts inside. I got my first one with a WW2 Bronze star in it for $9.00 off Ebay, the second one for $12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchBoy Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Hunyadi,That's some pretty sweet deals you made...I'll keep a closer eye open for those! I guess people may assume it is a later version while actually it's a nice WW2 example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunyadi Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Here is the Vietnam era issue BS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunyadi Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 And the Ho-Hum case - you are exactly correct: people do tend to overlook them as just a 1970's-90's issue. So keep your eyes out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunyadi Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Here was the lisiting title U. S. Military Distinguished Flying Cross Medal Set NEW Here is the medal.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchBoy Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 Very nice items! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now