With the age of the internet, you have so many options available to you for finding medals. You can buy medals online from various auction houses, eBay, or even links on our website here at Identify Medals.
Obviously, though, the important part is to make sure that you use reputable dealers to avoid fake medals. You can browse the Medal News magazine as well as the annual Medal Yearbook to get an idea of what medals are available and what price you should be prepared to pay.
Dan Wade from JustCollecting, a trading website, encourages medal collectors to ask about the back story, how the seller got the medal, and look at the medal in person (if possible!).
If you’re willing to spend a bit more time searching, you can always try garage/yard sales, antique fairs, flea markets, thrift stores, and medal collectors fairs. If you go to any of these, it’s going to be a bit more like finding a diamond in the rough, and you may not find anything if you go looking for a specific medal.
However, if you’re open to seeing what’s out there and don’t have a specific medal in your mind, places like antique fairs and flea markets can be great options because they are likely going to be quite a bit cheaper.
As a side note, make sure that you pay the right price. Know what factors contribute to the difference in medal pricing. The battle in which the medal was awarded, the type of medal, the grade of the medal, and the condition of the medal all impact a medal’s price.
If a medal is in excellent condition, but the ribbon isn’t, you can always get a replacement ribbon. But remember to keep the original in case you ever want to sell the medal or for posterity’s sake.