Pre www1 medals

[DKOSTAS]

My name is Kostas, I am from Greece. I have sterted collecting ww1 American medals and I have the following question: must pre ww1 medal have to be numbered in order to be genuine or there are cases were those medals were issued unumbered but are still genuine?

Secondly, are there any dealers from which I can buy them from

Thank you very much

Kostas :jumping:

[Ulsterman]

Hi Kostas:

Jeff Floyd is a world expert on US ODMs so his answer will be far more accurate and comprehensive than most anything I can tell you.

But in a short answer, "no".

While many US campaign medals were numbered, some were not. It depends upon the medal.

Some even had the recipients' name engraved upon the medal (the navy long service medal for example).

Also, keep in mind states also issued medals and so did veterans associations, which are also worth collecting, as many soldiers wore them as well. Almost all of Americas' wars have catalyzed a specific veteran's organization, which has issued its own members' medals. The Aztec Club medal for example, is not an official US medal, but is highly prized by collectors as it was only worn by Mexican War veterans.

A good place to start is the OMSA.org web site. The database has many good pictures and there are all sorts of interesting articles about US medals over there.

Also, Roger Bender's book on U.S. awards is an excellent starting off point.

Lastly, there is an excellent US collectors forum out there. While its focus is 90% post World War One, some interesting early stuff does show up. It's free, so well worth signing up.

Edited December 20, 2008 by Ulsterman

[DKOSTAS]

Thank you for the information.

Where can I find Mr Jeff Floyd does he have web address? About Us collector forum can I buy from it.

[Ed_Haynes]

Jeff is the host of this very sub-forum.

For the auctions with which he is associated, see http://www.fjpauctions.com/ and purchase at a reliable auction (= non-online) will be the best way to collect these. You'll probably want to stay with medals where the number can be traced to a recipient. And don't expect this to be an inexpensive field of interest.

Or, better yet, join the OMSA and attend next year's convention in Minneapolis.

[JBFloyd]

OMSA convention is 13-16 August 2009, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, not Minneapolis.

[Ed_Haynes]

OMSA convention is 13-16 August 2009, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, not Minneapolis.

Oops. Sorry. Working from memory. A fragile thing at times .

[JBFloyd]

There was a sequence to the numbering systems on US medals:

1. Plain numbers ("1234") or "No." prefixed numbers ("No.1234") came first. These were issued to men who qualified and were still serving. Most of these are traceable by number to an individual, although the Army had more medals made than they issued, so there were some numbered, but unissued, medals at the high end of the number range. Initially, the Army only awarded campaign medals to men still serving. Those who had been discharged got nothing.

2. "M.No." numbers are US Mint numbers. These indicate medals to individuals who qualified, but were no longer serving when the medal was issued. When the regulations changed to permit ex-soldiers to receive campaign medals, those men had to apply to the Army; their records would be checked to verify eligibility and they would be sent a form to send to the Mint (with a payment) to get their medal. The Army may have maintained a roll of these medals, but it has never been found in the Archives, so they are untraceable.

3. Unnumbered medals were produced under contract to the government for replacements or late issues. Others were produced with government permission for private sale to veterans. For example, a man named George Studley used government-provided dies to strike a number of medals, which he sold at reunions, etc. Official manufacturers are still producing unnumbered medals for the collector market. Until you get experienced in the styles of manufacturing and numbering of US medals, it's best to stay away from the unnumbered medals.

The Army was forced to award medals to soldiers who had served and qualified, but were no lnger serving. The Army's position was essentially that these men were not in uniform and had no need for something that would only be properly worn on a uniform. However, the large number of volunteers who served in the Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection pressured their Congressmen to require the Army to issue them medals, even though they were back in civilian life. Congress say the power of the veterans' vote and made that happen. The result was a major change in the way medals were given.

This is a very, very abbreviated account of the medal numbering system, which reflected major changes in the Army.

I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in US medals that they get a copy of "Call of Duty", by John Strandberg and Roger Bender. The text is mediocre, at best, but the photos are of real medals with original numbering. The book has excellent photography, so you can see the numbering styles. I would also recommend an OMSA monograph called "The Gleim Medal Letters", a compilation of research by the foremost expert on Army campaign medals, Col Al Gleim.

[JBFloyd]

Oops. Sorry. Working from memory. A fragile thing at times .

"At all times" in my case.