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How to Care for Vintage Military Medals

Many collectors that are new to militaria do not know the proper way to care for vintage military medals. They often invest large amounts of money into their collection, and then cause unintentional damage to pieces because they do not know how to clean and store the items correctly.

Things You'll Need

Display cases

Instructions

- 1
  Polish your vintage military medals, with great caution or avoid polishing them completely. Natural patina on the medals is usually one of the methods used to tell age.
- 2
  Handle your military medals as little as possible. The acid in human perspiration can cause oxidation of your medals.
- 3
  Store the vintage medals away from areas that are damp or high in humidity.
- 4
  Keep the medals out of direct sunlight if you are displaying them.
- 5
  Apply a protective coating to the surface of the medal. Different types of metals need to have different types of protective coatings applied.
- 6
  Use display and storage cases to keep your vintage military medals protected. Cases are available online at websites such as Patriots of America (see link in Resources).
- 7
  Check any ribbons attached to your medals for signs of frass, which is usually the same color as the fabric and appears as a powdery substance. This damage indicates an infestation of larvae of moths, silverfish or carpet beetles.

Antiques