How do I clean dirty ribbons?

You generally leave them alone. Water and modern detergents can destroy antique silk in seconds, washing out the original dyes and weakening the fibres. If a ribbon is brittle or fraying, store the piece flat in a dry environment. Some collectors replace ruined ribbons with modern equivalents, but the soiled original fabric tells the physical story of the object.

I inherited some old medals and noticed that one of them has the recipient name printed upside down on the rim, is this normal?

Impressing machines stamped the recipient details onto the edge of the planchet before the suspender was fitted. The operator simply placed the disc into the machine without checking the orientation of the head. Upside down naming is a standard variation found across millions of issued military awards. It has no bearing on the history of the piece.

What does oak leaf mean?

A small bronze oak leaf attached to the ribbon indicates that the recipient was mentioned in despatches. This means a senior commander specifically noted their good conduct in an official report. Only one leaf was worn per ribbon, even if the individual received multiple mentions during that specific campaign. They are easily lost, so you often find ribbons with just the small pin holes remaining.

Some of the campaign awards mounted together in a row have their ribbons overlapping, while others are spread wide apart, why does this happen?

Regulations dictated the maximum width a row of medals could occupy on a uniform tunic. As veterans accumulated more awards, they had to overlap the ribbons to keep the group within the mandated space. Court mounting, where the ribbon extends down behind the medal to keep it rigid, also dictates how tightly they sit together. Groups mounted for wear by private tailors often show slight variations in spacing.

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Art Nouveau Medals

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Antique medals are small metallic discs or crosses issued by governments and institutions to recognise military service, civilian gallantry, or commemorate significant historical events, originally designed to be worn on uniforms or kept in presentation cases as a lasting physical record of personal or national achievement.