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New Collector Need A Lot Of Direction


warmedals
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I will ask a lot of dumb questions, but I promise to never ask the same dumb question twice. I am a seasoned coin and currency collector, and dabble in other areas. I am trying to get proficient in medals so I can start collecting. So let me start with some specific questions. And I would be extremely grateful if someone can take the time to hold my hand and answer these. My goal is to learn to fish rather than keep asking for the fish.

 

1) I see where the China Relief medal has 400 issued. I see that listed on Wikipedia, but where does that number originally come from?

 

2) I know this is super rare, but regarding the Cardenas Medal of Honor, do we know quantities issued? Do we know the names of the men who were awarded the different versions of the medals?

 

3) On Indian War Medals, it sounds like there are no bars. So how does one find out which war/area of service the recipient participated in? And again, is there a list of recipients?

 

References in my possession:

The Call of Duty, Strandberg & Bender

Military Medals of the United States, Foster & Borts

 

What other books do I need?

 

Thank you!

 

 

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Don't ever be bashful about asking questions here - there is a ton of information available from some very knowledgeable folks. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. But it won't be long before you'll get answers. Good luck on your collecting!!

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dhcoleterracina

Welcome to the forum, we don't abuse anyone who asks any question. If any of your questions involve a medal that you possess then it's always best to post a photo of the medal so we can see what you have.

 

The Call of Duty book is one of the best references. There are other more specific books about campaign medals and numbering. If you check our sale section, there is a subsection for books (at least I'm pretty sure), you might find good stuff there. Often someone will post a question that they have such and such medal with a number. A member will often respond with the needed information if they have the book.

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Hello Warmedals

 

I cannot answer your first two questions as they are out of my area of interest/caring.

 

As to the third question the book on the IW medals is, "The Indian Wars Campaign Medal: It's History and Its Recipients" by J. M. Carroll & Company AKA John M. Carroll.

 

It gives a brief history on the medal and the variants and who received the medal and their rank and the date it was issued.

 

The first medals were marked on the rim "NO 1234" and the recipient is listed, the second issues were marked "MNO 1234" and there is no list of who received the medal, and there was a later issue for collectors in the 40's and 50's with no number.

 

I did a quick search on e-bay and ABE books and none came up so you will need to keep an eye out for a copy of the book.

 

Good luck with you collecting, the Indian wars era is my area of interest, marksmanship especially.

 

Here are some of my medals mostly for Marksmanship

 

413047848.jpg

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Thanks Don, I found the Indian Wars book on Amazon and bought it. Thanks for the tip. And thanks for the other warm welcomes. I can see that I will probably have more money into a good library than my first medal, but that is fine with me. Any more comments on the first two questions would be great. Thanks again for the free advice.

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Issue records and research for the Army China Relief Expedition Medal show medal No.1634 as the highest number issued. Not all the numbers are recorded.

 

Navy CRE records show medal 1153 as the highest recorded issue. There are very large gaps in the rolls, especially above the 300-range.

 

USMC CRE records show medal 768 as the highest recorded issue. There are gaps in the rolls.

 

These numbers come from OMSA Monograph No.13 (revised) "The Boxer Uprising: Campaigns, Medals and Men", published in 2016.

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Hello Warmedals.. welcome to the forum..

 

If you need any help looking up any of the Mexican Border Service medals you may come across that are numbered, I have the 2 volumes that were printed in 1996 by Planchet Press by JoAnn Williams and Robert Reynolds.

 

I will be more than happy to assist in tracking names and units for you..

 

Leigh

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Get a copy of the OMSA pub, Gleim Medal Letters edited by Tom Nier. There's one still for sale right now on the Forum by mmrc20. Some of the info is a little dated but it is a must-have for any US medal collector.

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Unfortunately it's already sold. I miss-stated the seller, it was mmerc20. Sorry for the error!

 

Hopefully OMSA will re-publish it.

 

 

Thanks 3mxd, do you have a link to that posting? I couldn't find it.

 

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