garfyboy Posted 10 January , 2013 Share Posted 10 January , 2013 I currently store all my medals in the usual plastic medal envelopes but have noticed that they tend to get a bit tacky/sticky after a while and also (this may just be me) the victory medal seems to dull ??? Is this correct? and also what would be the best way to keep all my sets together otherwise thanks andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 10 January , 2013 Share Posted 10 January , 2013 Mine show the same symptoms. One Victory medal in particular. Regrettably I haven't a clue why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Owl Posted 10 January , 2013 Share Posted 10 January , 2013 Unfortunately this is the problem with sealing anything in a plastic sleeve where no air can circulate. Any moisture in the air trapped inside reacts with the metal and causes oxidisation, which if left long enough this will show as a greeny/blue precipitation on the medal and will eventually cause damage to the surface of the medal. Medals are best stored out of these type of packets--but we all tend to store in the plastic sleeves for ease and also to protect from scratching and edge knocks. I suspect that the condition is made worse by changes of temperature which can cause moisture to form(in very small quantities)inside the packet/sleeve. If your medals can be stored in a dry and warmish atmosphere ie one without large swings in temperature, then storing in plastic sleeves will not be too much of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmarchand Posted 10 January , 2013 Share Posted 10 January , 2013 This should sort you out: http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/publications/notes/9-4-eng.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted 10 January , 2013 Share Posted 10 January , 2013 Makes you wonder why we have to go through all this hoo ha to store medals. I am not a medal collector per se but have my grandfathers medals which originally, were just chucked in a cardboard box and left there until he died in 1951. I took them over and didn't do anything about them until about 10 years ago when I had them mounted in a glass/wood frame and they are still in perfect condition after 90 + years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 11 January , 2013 Share Posted 11 January , 2013 Great thread. Thanks Andy and contributors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfyboy Posted 12 January , 2013 Author Share Posted 12 January , 2013 Thanks all, I just spoke to a collecting friend who has one hell of a collection, he pins each set to a piece of card through the ribbons, different I guess, not sure if I fancy that but I've got to get my medals out of the plastic envelopes Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 12 January , 2013 Share Posted 12 January , 2013 I'm dusting down my hole punch and recycled cardboard as we speak... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIRKY Posted 15 January , 2013 Share Posted 15 January , 2013 Thats interesting, never thought of using wax to preserve the medals, anyone done this? tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 15 January , 2013 Share Posted 15 January , 2013 FWIW don't know about wax but a Guards WO2 once told me that he painted the reverse of his medals with clear nail varnish to stop them staining his jacket/tunic after they had been polished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingo794 Posted 18 January , 2013 Share Posted 18 January , 2013 Yes, the varnishing of the reverse of medals was common. The varnish could be easily removed at a later date and stopped the medals scratching eachother. As for storage of medals, I gave up on plastic envelopes a few years ago. As you say, they discoloured and left a film of something unpleasant and sticky on the surface. Since then, I have had the more interesting sets mounted for hanging on the wall or placed them in individual trays in a filing cabinet (along with the files of research). Also, keeping them in a nice cabinet makes display more pleasing to the eye. I found that unpolished, uncleaned for years items which are almost 'gun metal blue' are enhanced by a light was in soapy water. Once air dried, a light spray on a soft cloth brings out the patina colours. Displaying and storage of medals, for me, is a matter of taste. It can make your collection. DW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 19 January , 2013 Share Posted 19 January , 2013 I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about DW's last photo above. This is a Great War forum and no place to flaunt an extraordinarily desirable collection of Third Reich awards. There. I've said it. Time for my medication... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfyboy Posted 19 January , 2013 Author Share Posted 19 January , 2013 Well don DW, your set look fantastic, good idea to frame the more desirable sets, as for the majority of my pairs, trios I may go for the hanging on a coloured card, as stated earlier, my pal does this and to be fair it looks good. On a thick piece of coloured card, the ribbons are hung over the top and stapled, this causes no damage if taken out carefully at a later date and not visible from the front, then a little needle and cotton work around the top of medals through the card to secure, then just a little written detail at the bottom, I will try and post a pic Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingo794 Posted 19 January , 2013 Share Posted 19 January , 2013 I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about DW's last photo above. This is a Great War forum and no place to flaunt an extraordinarily desirable collection of Third Reich awards. There. I've said it. Time for my medication... Oooops! Just demonstrating the style of framing I do......plus the range of acid free cards available on the market NOT TOUTING FOR WORK, HOWEVER! The German Navy badges were collected by an uncle during the war. As a kid, I badgered him for them (pardon the pun!) when he told me about having them, but they had been lost over the years. Along with some others picked up by another uncle who collected......nice black dagger and Walther P-38 (dagger swapped for something and P-38 stripped and chucked in a the river Ancholme, Brigg ) All the badges were found on the death of my Uncle George, tucked in a handbag which belonged to my grandmother, up in the loft of the old house where the family had lived since 1936.....a bit of of an eye opener when we sorted it all out! Grandma died in 1962, so they had been up there since that time. Nice to have a bit of provenance with them. Here are the Army badges all framed up. I have never collected German WW2 awards myself, but there is a certain attraction of these to me. There seems to be an awful lot of repro's around and in varying qualities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingo794 Posted 19 January , 2013 Share Posted 19 January , 2013 I do believe that all the naval badges were collected from coastal positions in France.....that is where Uncle George did most of his fighting with the HAC on 3.7inch AT/AA guns. Landed D-Day +5. Died 1998 after getting Diabetes and losing his legs. From what the Doc said, it looked like old fragments of shrapnel in wounds and diabetes 50 years later on. Things which do not mix, were the cause of his loss of legs. The Army badges were collected along the way from D-Day +1 to Caen, Falaise and onto Gottingen where he was billetted with a German family, by Uncle Harold while serving with the 1st then 4th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Lucky to have escaped unscathed, as a lorry he was riding in was hit by an 88mm shell. Then having lost alot of mates in the fields in Normandy. Died 2001. Just got me thinking about the old lads! DW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingo794 Posted 19 January , 2013 Share Posted 19 January , 2013 Andy I find that the acid free cards are a good idea. They are hard wearing, do not fade, do not 'dog ear' with handling, and cut easily with a decent modelling knife. I look forward to seeing your collections. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 19 January , 2013 Share Posted 19 January , 2013 No doubting their authenticity then. Great provenance for sure. Thanks for sharing DW, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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