Tips Appreciated

[Tom Green]

Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone has any tips on mounting, showing or cleaning medals.

Thanks,

Tom

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Tom,

Welcome to the club.

As you look through the various threads and see pictures posted by members you will pick up some good ideas, with regards mounting, in the members collections section are some good examples, how ever this is restricted till you are given full membership, which is down to the number of posts you make.

Cleaning is covered under a specific topic, and most members seem follow the old rule of not using any metal polish on medals to remove the patina, hard dust & grime I find, can be removed with an old tooth brush and for the non-iron containg medals & crosses a little soap and water, but keep the ribbons away from the water, and afterwards towl dry the excess water anduse a hair dryer to dry any nooks and crannys in crosses etc.

I dust off my medal collection with a animal-hair paintbrush which is reserved specificaly for that job once a month.

If you have any specific questions please feel free to post and dont be embarresed if it seems to be a silly question

Kevin in Deva.

[Tom Green]

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate it.

Cheers

Tom

[Gerd Becker]

I never clean any medals and i recommend to avoid it, if possible. Some Medals have a small coat-layer, which will be removed, when you polish the Medals.

Here is an example for a display. Its a group of mine with an Order of the October Revolution, an Order of the Red Star, a 1985 issue Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st class and some Medals. I mounted them like follows:

1st row: Orders

2nd row: Military Merit Medals, Victory over Germany, Campaign-Medals

3rd row: Victory Jubilee Medals

4th row: Armed Forces Jubilee Medals

If i have a photo (like in this case), i?ll add a print of it somewhere in the display. These are behind glass and i avoid to hang them in direct sunlight, as the ribbons will bleach out with too much UV-radiation.

Edited October 21, 2006 by Gerd Becker

[Gerd Becker]

This is a display with my single wartime Orders of the Great Patriotic War and Orders of the Red Star. Most of them are researched and you can find them in the Researched-Awards-Section. I often change this display, as its very easy to handle. You can see it on the background, which i have to reattach soon.

[Gerd Becker]

and last for now is a smaller group. This and the first frame are IKEA-frames, but i don?t remember the name, but if anyone is interested, i?ll find out. I attach some silk on the background, drill holes in the pressed-wood backplate, if necessary and attach the Orders with suspension on the silk-layer and the screwbacks through the holes. Works great and looks good imo.

Hope, you enjoyed.

Gerd

Edited October 21, 2006 by Gerd Becker

[Tom Green]

Thanks Gerd! I noticed on your display that you have a Medal for Veterans of Labour (I think). I have one aswell though mine is a darker colour. Does this mean that it is a different class or just in need of a polish?

Cheers

Tom

[Gerd Becker]

You?re welcome. There are two different variations of the Veteran of Labor Medals. One is a bit darker toned. I don?t remember, what was the particular difference, but i hope, another member will help us out here.

Btw, this is the way, i display my Medals. These are simple picture frames. Like the others the background is covered with silk, but in this case the Medal, the ribbonbar and the document are pressed against the glass, which keeps them in place. If i have, i like to include a ribbonbar. Btw, another member here (Michael Riley) has another great way to display Medals, maybe he likes to post a picture.

Gerd

[David Gregory]

and last for now is a smaller group. This and the first frame are IKEA-frames, but i don?t remember the name, but if anyone is interested, i?ll find out. I attach some silk on the background, drill holes in the pressed-wood backplate, if necessary and attach the Orders with suspension on the silk-layer and the screwbacks through the holes. Works great and looks good imo.

Hope, you enjoyed.

Gerd

Gerd,

Your displays look great.

Are the IKEA frames deep enough to leave a gap between the glass/plastic and the medals?

David

[Jacky]

Really Nice displays!!!

Concerning the question of the cleaning,

I think kevin has said everything!!

I don't like to clean them, some collectors like the idea of looking brandnew, but I think, for long term reasons, cleaning medals is wasting them as you will rub off the details after a certain time.

Nice idea of the ikea frames, I'm very interested in the name of this particular model as I have been looking for a very long time for a frame to mount my grandfathers medal.

Kind regards,

Jacky

[Gerd Becker]

Thanks guys.

David, yes, there is more than enough space for the Medals. You can easily put even wider things in it like a dagger or similar...

The Model is RIBBA and you get them in three colors and several different sizes. So there are enough options either for a single Medal or a complete group and anything in between.

Here is another one, a little smaller, perfect for a small group of two or three Medals or Orders. This is the smallest, if i remember correctly, its 20x15 cm. The first one shown is 50x40 cm.

all the best,

Gerd

[Eric Gaumann]

Here's one of my framed displays.

It consists of a frame purchased at Michael's (an American craft store). What I like most about it is the fact that the frame is hinged, so I can take it off the wall and open it to photgraph items or fondle my collection.

Here's a link to how I made this: http://www.soviet-awards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5600

I hope links to other forums are OK. If not I'll remove it immediately.

Edited October 22, 2006 by Eric Gaumann

[Jacky]

wow nice display,

the last display, thats all of one person??

thanks for the Ikea tip and the model.

Will difinitely go there and search for it.

Kind regards,

Jacky

[Josef Rietveld]

I took an old thick picture frame, did a new backboard stringed with velvet (without sulfur!!) and fixed the merit crosses with little catches. unfortunatelx with this method you cant show the ribbons.

josef

[Jacky]

Wow, this display is really fantastic

All grades without and with crowns...

That's beautifull.

It's certainly on the place of pride??

Kind regards,

Jacky

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Joe,

thats a real nice display of Bavarian M. V. Kreuz

One idea would be to place a piece of ribbon across the top or bottom of the display, under the glass as and example of the ribbon

Do you have the late war model in zink??

Mine are displayed here, http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7352

Kevin in Deva

[Josef Rietveld]

Hi kev,

beautifull collection you have, congrats

Your proposal to put a ribbon under the glass is funny because some other collectors did mention the same fact and told me to put there a normal ribbon and a beamtenband to show the different ribbons. I haven't made up my mind about this so far.

i have no zinc-mvk. these mvks are my third or fourth collecting field. so i'am happy with what i have, no variants, no different producers etc. i just wanted to have a contemporary piece of every class of the 3rd modell with and without crown. just because the are so cute.

the next bavarian display i'am thinking of will consist of a MVO 4th Class + X and a MVO 4tc Class + Crown + X

then i hope i'am finished with the slipery bavarian road and can get back to the real things like Ottoman empire

@Jacky, thanks. I'am glad you like it. In fact this picture Frame hangs in our anteroom. The room that is frequented most beetween living room and kitchen. it is the only medal dsiply i have at home so far. but i will discuss this issue furthermore with my sweetheart.

josef

Edited October 23, 2006 by haynau

[Eric Gaumann]

the last display, thats all of one person??

One person's display, but certainly not one person's awards.

[JimZ]

I tried to aks the same questions in the Members Only Club Room under the heading Preservation and restorarion of military artifacts: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12023 . However, I did not get much feedback on my comments. I am placing them here as this thread is basically discussing what i tried to start off!

My comments were as follows

"....I am always asking myself the following question - "What is the best way of storing/displaying medal collections?" Until a few years ago, my medals were kept in acid free paper in closed boxes/drawers. Nice to have but I was not really appreciating them. Over the years I moved some of my medals into plastic medal wallets, still keeping these out of the light. Not the prettiest thing if you like to look at your collection and enjoy it. Two years ago I moved a large part of my medals and orders into a frame with a raised glass. The medals are attached to the backing by plastic coated wire (to prevent contact of different metals which accelerates corrosion) and these are hung in neat rows. Of course they are in positions where i can glance at them from my sofa whenever I feel like (which i admit is few times a day! ) However I make sure that they are out of direct sunlight which would of course totally kill the ribbons. So basically my 2 formulae are:

1) plastic medal wallets in closed boxes/drawers

2) closed frames in average lit room out of direct sunlight

I have also contemplated jewelry boxes with several drawers, although one would need quite a few of those

In summary - my ideas are to:

1) avoid too much light

2) avoid contact with ever changing city air containing fresh pollutants

3) handle with cotton gloves to avoid skin oils coming in contact with medals and ribbons

4) keep them in their original condition without cleaning, polishing etc....."

Hope it helps.

Jim

[Jacky]

Nice to touch them with cotton gloves,

However I think I want to feel the beauty....

So I just take them and feel them, think of the proud soldier who wore them once... Who earned them once

Who did his part of the history.......

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Jim,

You raise some good points, however I am sure that I read somewhere that certain types of plastic can cause a chemical tarnish when in combination with metal, some plastics I believe have amonia and this can fade even ribbons, while stored away out of direct sunlight

I have placed my collection in a cabinet with glass shelves so the items can be displayed and attach a few pictures, sure its a pain once a month to remove all the items because of light dust, but this gives me an excuse to handle the objects and occassionaly rearange the display.

I attach a shot of the top two shelves, I will take a better photo in the daytime tomorrow to show it in all its glory

Jacky,

the reason for the cotton gloves is because the oils in your skin (think finger prints) can on some items cause rust or corrossion, especially on silver or iron items, when I have visitors I don't let them handle the medals, if they want to see it close-up, I take it from the cabinet and place it on a white towl, a magnifying glass can also be provided for the short-sighted.

Kevin in Deva.

[Jacky]

I know all about the chemistry, but I just want to feel it....

Then you feel all the stories which could lie behind the metal.....

Kinda dramatic, but it's the way I feel it.

Jacky

[JimZ]

I know all about the chemistry, but I just want to feel it....

Then you feel all the stories which could lie behind the metal.....

Kinda dramatic, but it's the way I feel it.

Jacky

As I see it Jacky, you are the guardian of a piece of history (or number of pieces thereof) and it is your duty (heavy word!!) to preserve the medals in your posession. By touching them you are doing the medals no good and you are depositing human oils in the ribbons and on the medals. This will lead to uneven tarnishing and damage to your ribbons (especially the older ones). If you wanna enjoy the medals keep them where you can see them everytime you glance up...like i did. But the less you handle them, the more your medals will love you! Trust me on this one.

Kev - yes, no matter how we store medals we must review regularly to ensure they are keeping as they should. If not we are doing something wrong. So far my ribbons have not faded in the plastic folders but constant review ensures that once I notice something could be going wrong, I can correct it before it is too late....fingers crossed...as even a bit of damage/fading would be a real pity!

Jim

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Jim,

here is a shot of my cabinet, full length, I never allow sunlight from the window on the left to fall on the shelves so as to fade the ribbons.

Kevin in Deva

[JimZ]

I the cabinet! I'll post some shots of my stuff in a few weeks time. Just wanna wait for my new babies

can't wait!

can't wait!

can't wait!

Jim