Metal star order brooch serial numbers#
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Medals for exceptional valor and heroism, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Airman’s Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Soldier’s Medal, also tend to be more collectible, as is the Purple Heart, which can only be awarded for wounds received as a direct result of enemy action. Depending on their age, they can be very valuable. Other high prominence medals such as the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross and the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross are not covered by the ban and can be sold legally. However, the Court did not address the constitutionality of the ban on selling the medal, which is punishable by a fine up to $100,000.

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Last year the Supreme Court ruled the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which made it a criminal offense to make false claims of having been awarded the Medal of Honor, was an unconstitutional violation of the first Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration, but laws prohibit anyone selling the medal (it can only be legally donated or given away). The type of medal, including high prominence, can be an important factor. While the type of brooch is important, there are other features that can make a U.S. “Crimp brooch” medals were made from the 1950s to today and usually need some other aspect-engraved name, high prominence-to make them valuable. medals and generally need some other aspect-engraved name, high prominence-to make them valuable. Crimp brooch medals are the least collectible U.S. That simplified manufacturing style is still used today with many medals now being made with “clutchback” attachment posts. Instead the edges of the fitting are “crimped” onto the ribbon to hold it in place. “Crimp brooch” medals can be easily identified because the ribbons are no longer sewn to the brooches. Although not as rare as the split or wrap styles, slot brooch medals are still highly collectible, especially if they are engraved with names or dates. The lower part of the fitting has holes on either side to sew it to the ribbon. The silk ribbon is threaded through the slot and overhangs the front of the brooch. The attachment device is a flat metal fitting with a “slot” cut into the top portion. The slot brooch is a hallmark of World War II-era medals. “Slot brooch” medals were made from the early 1940s into the early ’50s.

Metal star order brooch serial numbers#

Serial numbers engraved on the rim of U.S. The moire silk ribbon was wrapped around the brooch and sewn across to hold it in place. Medals issued in the early 1900s had what is called a “split brooch.” The split brooch was an open loop of metal with the “pinback” attachment device soldered to the open edges. military started authorizing and issuing service, campaign and valor medals with established criteria for the various branches. Although a few medal-type decorations were issued in the 1800s, the real effort to honor this nation’s fighting men didn’t begin until the early part of the 20th century when the U.S. medals, as we know them today, have a fairly short history. The same goes for the ring, which has the sole purpose of attaching the pendant to the ribbon. Except for signs of age and handling wear, it’s difficult to tell a medal pendant made in the 1930s from one made in the 1960s, since medal manufacturers continued to use the same die molds.

medals are made of four components: a medal pendant (usually bronze), a brass connection ring, a silk ribbon and an attachment device, or brooch. The type of brooch used to attach the medal to the uniform will tell you a lot about the medal, including just how valuable it may be.

While that may be an oversimplification, it’s also largely true. military medals, it is this: The value of the medals is in the brooch. If there’s one universal tenet observed by collectors of U.S. If you could see the backs of these medals, they would most likely have been made with “slot brooch” devices. Lieutenant Audie Murphy, seen here in dress uniform, has been called “the most decorated soldier in World War Two.” Among the medals he is wearing is the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster and a Purple Heart with two Oak leaf Clusters.