Congressional medals, Victory medals, and American Theater Campaign medals

[Noelle]

While perusing eBay, as one does when looking for stuff, I saw a small repro of a congressional medal, and that made me wonder—how often do these medals ever go up for sale or auction, and how much would they be expected to go for?  Have any ever even gone up for sale or auction?  Are the Victory and American Theater Campaign medals specific in design to the WASPs the way the Congressional as designed for them, or were those the same issued to everyone else?  I know very little about these.

[collectsmedals]

From the FBI website:

 

Due to the prestige of the Medal of Honor, it is a federal crime to manufacture, sell, or trade these awards without authorization of the federal government. It is also illegal to use unauthorized Medals of Honors to receive benefits, such as money or property.

 

Of course these laws are only applicable in the United States, so you do occasionally see or hear of a Medal of Honor being sold overseas.

[atb]

The referenced "congressional medal," I think, is a Congressional Gold Medal as awarded by Congress to specific groups, not the military Medal of Honor.

[Noelle]

4 hours ago, collectsmedals said:

From the FBI website:

 

Due to the prestige of the Medal of Honor, it is a federal crime to manufacture, sell, or trade these awards without authorization of the federal government. It is also illegal to use unauthorized Medals of Honors to receive benefits, such as money or property.

 

Of course these laws are only applicable in the United States, so you do occasionally see or hear of a Medal of Honor being sold overseas.

 

@atb is correct.  I’m not referring to the medal of honor, which they didn’t get, but rather to the Congressional Gold, which they did, though the ones they actually received were bronze.

 

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/congressional-gold-medal-women-airforce-service-pilots/nasm_A20100219000

[collectsmedals]

3 hours ago, atb said:

The referenced "congressional medal," I think, is a Congressional Gold Medal as awarded by Congress to specific groups, not the military Medal of Honor.

That makes more sense, sorry for the confusion and thank you for the correction, my mistake.

[Noelle]

1 hour ago, collectsmedals said:

That makes more sense, sorry for the confusion and thank you for the correction, my mistake.

 

I take some of the fault here.  I left out the “gold” because the ones the recipients actually get are bronze as the gold is seen a too valuable.  Rep Joe Baca back in 2006 had the right idea that, if people are deemed worth of this honor, they’re worthy of the few grand in gold, but was struck down.  ONE gold is struck, then kept in a museum, while recipients receive bronze versions.  Didn’t seem right to reference the WASP ones as “gold metals” when they got bronze, but I also didn’t think about how “Congressional Metal” could also be read as short for the MOH.  So my apologies for causing that confusion.

[GIKyle]

To part two of your question - The American Campaign and Victory Medals were virtually the same.  Navy and Marine Corps personnel largely had theirs made at the US Mint, but the design is the same.  

[collectsmedals]

13 hours ago, GIKyle said:

To part two of your question - The American Campaign and Victory Medals were virtually the same.  Navy and Marine Corps personnel largely had theirs made at the US Mint, but the design is the same.  

GIKyle is correct. Here is a photograph of Navy, Army, and Coast Guard American Campaign Medals side by side with their issue boxes. As you can see the only real difference are the box labels.

[Noelle]

@GIKyle and @collectsmedals Thanks. So those sphincter be specific to WASPs. Do you know about the Congressionals?  I haven’t found any of those go up for sale before. The golds, which are bronze, not the honor ones. 😁

[Noelle]

WASPs didn’t get theirs until 1984. 

[cutiger83]

Noelle,

 

Is this what you are talking about?

 

https://catalog.usmint.gov/women-airforce-service-pilots-wasp-bronze-medal-MASTER_MLWA.html?cgid=medals#start=1

 

...Kat

[Noelle]

4 hours ago, cutiger83 said:

Noelle,

 

Is this what you are talking about?

 

https://catalog.usmint.gov/women-airforce-service-pilots-wasp-bronze-medal-MASTER_MLWA.html?cgid=medals#start=1

 

...Kat

 

Yes, but not replicas available for the public to buy as souvenirs.  I’m talking about ones actually given to the recipients.  Originals.

[cutiger83]

18 hours ago, Noelle said:

WASPs didn’t get theirs until 1984. 

The WASPS did not get the Congressional medal unitil 2010. 

 

https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/20100310-women-airforce-service-pilots-of-wwii-receive-congressional-gold-medal

 

..Kat

[Noelle]

3 hours ago, cutiger83 said:

The WASPS did not get the Congressional medal unitil 2010. 

 

https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/20100310-women-airforce-service-pilots-of-wwii-receive-congressional-gold-medal

 

..Kat

 

 

That was referring to their Victory and American Theater medals, which they got in 1984. We’re talking about a few medals in this thread. Their Congressionals were signed in 2009 and given in 2010.