Militaria is one of the few collecting fields where the object is only half of what you are holding. A medal is a piece of struck metal until you can say whose chest it was pinned to, and then it becomes a record of what one man did. That is the whole reason this field behaves differently from the rest of the antiques trade, and it is why two medals that look identical can be worth twenty dollars and two thousand.
Why an identified piece is worth more
A piece that can be traced to one named soldier is called identified, and it is the single biggest thing that moves a price in militaria. A named rim on a medal, a service number, a name inked inside a helmet liner, a tunic with a laundry number that matches a document: any of these turns an anonymous object into a piece of history somebody can research.
Once a piece is identified it can be followed. Service records, unit histories and casualty lists will often say where that man was and what he did, and a collector is buying that story as much as the object. This is why the same medal is worth a modest sum unnamed and a great deal more with a name on the rim.
Keep the group together
If you take one thing from this page, take this one. Several items belonging to the same soldier are worth considerably more together than the same items sold separately, and once a group is broken up it can almost never be put back.
A group means the medals, the award certificates, the discharge papers, the photographs, the insignia, the letters home, and anything else that came out of the same box. Each piece supports the others. The paperwork proves the medals, the photographs date the uniform, and together they document one man’s war. We see groups split up by well meaning families every year and it costs them real money every time.
Medals, orders and decorations
The most collected part of the field by a distance. Value follows how high the award was, how few were given, whether it is named, and whether the paperwork survives. A gallantry award with its citation is a different object entirely from the same award on its own.
Photograph both faces of every medal and the edge as well, because that is where naming is usually found. Send the ribbons as they are, even if they are faded, and send the boxes of issue if they survived. Please never polish a medal. The dark surface that builds up over decades is part of what a collector is paying for, and a polished medal is worth less than the same medal left alone.
Edged weapons, and a word about firearms
Daggers, swords, sabres and bayonets are a strong part of the market. Maker marks on the blade, the condition of the original finish, matching scabbards and untouched grips all count heavily. Wear from actual use is expected and is not a fault. What does hurt is modern cleaning, a sharpened blade, replaced fittings and rust that has been ground off.
Firearms are a separate matter because of shipping rules and state law, so please ask us before you send anything of that kind.
Uniforms, headgear and insignia
With a uniform you are really valuing two things: the garment itself and everything sewn onto it. A plain tunic is worth a base figure, and the insignia, the rank, the unit patches and the awards can multiply it. A piece that was worn in combat by a man who can be named is at the top of that scale.
Photograph the maker’s label and the size stamp, usually inside the collar or the waistband, and any name or number written inside. Do not have anything dry cleaned, do not cut patches off to send them separately, and do not replace missing buttons. Store uniforms flat and away from light, because moths and sunlight will do more damage in one summer than forty years in a trunk did.
Documents and photographs
People throw these away and they should not. Award certificates, discharge papers, pay books, orders, unit rosters, letters and original photographs are what turn everything else in the box into an identified group. Even where the paper has little value alone, it can double what the medals bring.
Original wartime photographs of the man himself, in uniform, are particularly worth keeping with the rest. Send the paperwork flat and unfolded, and please don’t laminate anything.
Reproductions and fakes
Militaria is faked more than almost any other collecting field, because the good pieces are valuable and the materials are simple. Copies of medals, insignia and daggers have been made continuously since the wars ended, and some of them are old enough now to look convincing.
Reproductions usually give themselves away in the details: soft or blurred striking where an original is crisp, the wrong weight, a finish that sits on the surface rather than in it, and construction that does not match how the originals were made. This is exactly the kind of judgement that needs the piece in hand and somebody who has handled hundreds of them, which is why we are careful about it rather than quick.
Collecting for reasons other than money
Not everyone who holds on to these things is thinking about value, and that is a perfectly good reason to keep them. A medal that belonged to somebody in your family is worth more to you than it will ever be worth on the market, and we have told people that before now.
If you are unsure, get it appraised and then decide. Knowing the number costs you nothing and it keeps.
Finding out what a piece or a group is worth
Send photographs of everything from the same source together, laid out so we can see how it belongs to each other, plus close photographs of every mark, name and document. One of our specialists comes back with a written opinion and a price. The appraisal is free, there is no obligation, and shipping in both directions is prepaid and fully insured if you go ahead.
Our what we buy page explains what we look at across every category, and estates rarely hold only one thing, so our pages on stamp collections, coin collections and ring collections are worth a look as well. When you are ready, start on our sell online page.