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Re-ribbon or not ?????


robert_hyman
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robert_hyman

Does it hurt to re-ribbon a medal? I collect WW1 Victory medals from all countries and some of them have rather tattered ribbons. It is easy to get replacement ribbon. What is your opinion???

 

When I went to a museum in England, it looked as if every medal was re-ribboned, but if you go to any US museum you see many medals left in as is condition.

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IMPERIAL QUEST

I know I'll catch flak for this but that is OK...Leave it alone. Being a "purist" collector, I would rather have the ragged original than a pretty replacement. I know that the argument can be made that says you don't know if that ragged ribbon is the original...true, but it is the one that came with the medal at purchase. I approach my collecting this way in general with all of my items. I am NOT saying this is the ONLY way, but it is my way. ;)

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Does it hurt to re-ribbon a medal? I collect WW1 Victory medals from all countries and some of them have rather tattered ribbons. It is easy to get replacement ribbon. What is your opinion???

 

When I went to a museum in England, it looked as if every medal was re-ribboned, but if you go to any US museum you see many medals left in as is condition.

 

That is purely your decision. The reason that British medal collectors like myself generally don't mind new ribbons is the fact that British medals are generally issued loose, without brooches (exception: valor, coronation, Imperial decorations), so to replace a tattered ribbon isn't that big a deal, as it is assumed that many medal and medal groups have had their ribbons changed over the years. Now some will save the old ribbons, but really, the value is in the medal itself when it comes to British medals. This is in contrast to US medals which are always issued with a brooch. Unless mounted in a group, it is always desirable to have the original ribbon. Now, I have replaced a WWI victory ribbon with a new original ribbon, but the brooch had come off and I was concerned about losing it. That said, that was an exception. If you re-ribbon medals, you risk being blamed for faking as we have seen on this forum with spurious brooches on medals.......

 

Attached is a photo of a WWII British group in the box. Note that the ribbons are folded and are seperate from the medals. The mentality is the same when collecting British Medals, some being over 200 years old!

 

-Ski

post-3043-1236718868.jpg

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leave as is, is how I see it. It's history

Ski makes a good point, for British medals.

 

But, I have to agree with Brig and IQ on this one...

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US collectors seem to be the only collectors dead set against re-ribboning. In the British, French and German traditions (as well as most of the rest of the world), re-ribboning is not a problem. This is based on the simple fact that a soldier would not wear his medal(s) on tattered or dirty ribbons.

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US collectors seem to be the only collectors dead set against re-ribboning. In the British, French and German traditions (as well as most of the rest of the world), re-ribboning is not a problem. This is based on the simple fact that a soldier would not wear his medal(s) on tattered or dirty ribbons.

 

I'm pretty sure Japanese medals that are re-ribboned are frowned upon as well. It seems to come down to the brooch. If the medal was made with a sewn-in brooch, re-ribboning hurts it's value.

 

-Ski

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I like to know my items are 100% unfooled with...tattered just adds to their glory

 

 

I agree, I only reribbon when the ribbon is missing

 

Bill

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I agree, I only reribbon when the ribbon is missing

 

Bill

even then I leave them as is...as with one of my named USMC GC medals

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  • 1 month later...
Military-Memorabilia

While, as an American collector, I also have a bais against re-ribboning, I would add the following comments. If the original ribbon is missing, reribboning is acceptable. If the original, tattered ribbon would be further damaged by display or handling, and can be easiily removed (as in French Medals), without further damaging or altering (cutting) the original ribbon, reribboning may be the desired course of action. In this case, I would keep the original ribbon carefully stored away in such a fashion that no further damage could occur. A good idea would be placing the ribbon between two rigid pieces of clear plastic that are held in place by rubber bands. I add those options, as we must not only be collectors, but also the primary persons responsible for the artifact's preservation. Sometimes preserving the original ribbon will mean not displaying it with the medal.

 

When you go to sell your medals, having the original ribbons available along with new replacements should satisfy the most purist of collectors.

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  • 11 years later...
tdogchristy90

The museum person in me hates the concept of re-ribboning. Like others I like to know my medals are as is and not “put together”. That said I have a ww1 medal whose ribbon is becoming more and more fragile. It only has a few threads holding it to the broach. (Any expert thoughts on stabilizing) If it breaks off I would be torn (no pun intended) between leaving it alone and re-ribboning with original ww1 ribbon since the original broach and medal are present. 

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29 minutes ago, tdogchristy90 said:

The museum person in me hates the concept of re-ribboning. Like others I like to know my medals are as is and not “put together”. That said I have a ww1 medal whose ribbon is becoming more and more fragile. It only has a few threads holding it to the broach. (Any expert thoughts on stabilizing) If it breaks off I would be torn (no pun intended) between leaving it alone and re-ribboning with original ww1 ribbon since the original broach and medal are present. 

Wow, almost twelve years, and this one bobs to the top of the punch.  LOL.

 

I’d say the answer to your question depends on what you’re doing with it.  Not sure I’ve seen a ribbon just turn back to atoms and vanish.  As long as you’re not hanging it by the drape, not sure why it might matter.  
 

Depending on what it is, I would store it flat, away from UV light, <40% humidity, in an archival medium.  
 

Maybe I’m missing something though.

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I'm not a purist. If a ribbon is super ratty or tattered or detatched or totally faded . . . I'd replace it. I could see choosing to leave it if it was a family piece or if I knew whose medal it was or for some reason wished to have the original ribbon with the medal. However, I wouldn't be totally one way or the other. For displays, I'd rather have a replaced ribbon so that it won't fall apart and it looks like the vet would have seen it. :) 

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aerialbridge
On 3/10/2009 at 5:36 PM, JBFloyd said:

US collectors seem to be the only collectors dead set against re-ribboning. In the British, French and German traditions (as well as most of the rest of the world), re-ribboning is not a problem. This is based on the simple fact that a soldier would not wear his medal(s) on tattered or dirty ribbons.

 

Agree.  A drape that the veteran would not have worn on his uniform (or couldn't since it's ripped from the brooch) is not the equivalent of the Shroud of Turin IMO.  Should be a matter of free choice, regardless of what the majority opinion is, like everything in life. Maybe it loses some value, but that's not a given.  I have seen medals that were professionally reribboned with old stock reach auction prices that had no apparent loss of value for not being the original "shot" ribbon. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The topic of reribboning or restoring anything gets people angry. It's your choice but as a group we cannot expect another group to appreciate it. One consideration is it will likely reflect in later value. To me, and many, that is based upon the fact that it removes the original touch of the vet and the history(where it's been, what it's seen, also the wear it's seen) and replaced it with an appropriate yet different covering. In about any imaginable setting, it would have the same impact on me as if I was looking at a modern made replica to show "what they would have worn". May be spot-on but it will never have the soul. Same with about anything restored. The value of an old piece with newer parts, ribbons, paint, decals, whatever aligns more with the feel of the repro item for me both in the feelings it invokes and in the value it has.

Just an opinion(that for some reason really triggers people).

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huntssurplus

The age old question in collecting.

I will repeat what I say when this question comes up to any form of collecting, whether it is replacing ribbons on a uniform to repainting a helmet.

Originality lies not in how close an item looks to its original form, but rather how much of the original parts from the time period remain.

So a medal with a fresh ribbon that is fully intact is less original than a medal with a tattered ribbon when that ribbon is the original one used.

Now this rule applies to cases where it’s all the original parts remaining I.e. an original but tattered ribbon. In the case of the British medals where it is likely the ribbon has been replaced multiple times over its lifetime you aren’t really losing the history of it when the original ribbon no longer exists.

One more important thing to note is that if you leave the original ribbon, when it comes time to sell it, you will never have to worry about the value decreasing because you replaced the original ribbon. You can always change it later, but once you change it you can’t go back. Hence why I think, regardless of if you are someone who cares about preserving the original parts or not, you should leave it anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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dhcoleterracina

I personally am turned off when I see a replaced ribbon but people have different tastes and are going to do what they will with their own property. 

 

I think it is possible to cut the back half of a tattered ribbon and slip the pendant off. Preserve that piece aside and then when it comes time to sell (there will always come a time to sell) it can be offered both ways for the new owner. It's not something that I would do but on some level it allows the collector to un-do what was done. 

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On 3/10/2009 at 5:36 PM, JBFloyd said:

US collectors seem to be the only collectors dead set against re-ribboning. In the British, French and German traditions (as well as most of the rest of the world), re-ribboning is not a problem. This is based on the simple fact that a soldier would not wear his medal(s) on tattered or dirty ribbons.

This is a unique take on the way we think of things. In the Euro nations it is common practice for vets to wear their full medals on special occasions. Over the decades the ribbons must be replaced due to age and use. No vet would parade medals with damaged or soiled ribbons. Its about the vet who earned those awards and those awards are worn with pride as they should be. Their is a difference. In the US mini medals are a more common practice and occasions for full medals to be worn are few. So the argument can not be was the ribbon replaced, but under what circumstances were they replaced. If a vet feels the need to replace the ribbons on HIS medals that is of concern to no one. Not me, not you, no one. Having said that once a medal leaves the hands of the vet or his family different rules apply. When the medal has passed from being an award for an event to a person to being sold as a historical artifact of an event at that point in time the preservation of that artifact becomes the job of its new care takers. If you buy a grouping that has medals with ribbons that are aged, you do that knowing full well what you are getting into. If you are looking to hang something up on your wall then buy new medals that reflect the originals you have and protect the condition of the originals. Now if what you have is an original medal with no ribbon and no history to a person you destroy no history in its restoration to its original configuration. This is how I see things. How you see things may differ.   David

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  • 2 weeks later...

In my opinion it is a matter of condition. If the ribbon is just stained or faded from age then why replace it. But if it is completely falling apart, torn to shreds or ruined in some other way then I don't see a problem replacing the ribbon. But it should be done with care to look like the original as much as possible.

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  • 1 year later...
Wharfmaster

In most cases, I would not replace a ribbon on a valuable old US medal unless it was missing or completely in shreds. However, depending on the medal, 

a piece of new old stock ribbon and/or the original brooch may or may not be easy to find.   

 

Also keep in mind that the British actually wear their medals from the time they receive them until the day they die. Their medal groups are

most often remounted every time they are awarded another medal or when the ribbons become worn or soiled. Also, the British & Commonwealth 

consider wearing their full sized medals in civilian dress patriotic, not showing off or bragging.   

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

      Ok, the deed was done a long time ago:  it's water under the bridge. 

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Screenshot_20220613-165139-825.png.bb3cb2f5831bb1ad2de894342b144106.png

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         Someone - ideally the vet who earned the medal - decided that it was due for a re-ribboning. But it's very likely, given the condition of the scrap, that this is the result of a conversion to a cravat. Thankfully at least this part of the original assembly was saved.  I think all would agree:  there is no way it's going into the landfill.

 

    So now here's the question:

 

    What to do with the scrapped piece other than store it in that clear plastic case? 

 

   Well, with a little scrounging and ingenuity it could be recycled into one heck of a nice service ribbon (3/8" or even 1/2" long in the US Navy Department style). 

 

    A second cut diminishes the original intent but furthers your interests. It's a very tough call. Either way though it's an interesting conversation piece. 

 

 

Jim T

 

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  • 5 months later...
On 6/13/2022 at 5:16 PM, Jim T said:

      Ok, the deed was done a long time ago:  it's water under the bridge. 

.

Screenshot_20220613-165139-825.png.bb3cb2f5831bb1ad2de894342b144106.png

.

Screenshot_20220613-164903-405.png.297348afa9ea809f8b672826540c0aee.png

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         Someone - ideally the vet who earned the medal - decided that it was due for a re-ribboning. But it's very likely, given the condition of the scrap, that this is the result of a conversion to a cravat. Thankfully at least this part of the original assembly was saved.  I think all would agree:  there is no way it's going into the landfill.

 

    So now here's the question:

 

    What to do with the scrapped piece other than store it in that clear plastic case? 

 

   Well, with a little scrounging and ingenuity it could be recycled into one heck of a nice service ribbon (3/8" or even 1/2" long in the US Navy Department style). 

 

    A second cut diminishes the original intent but furthers your interests. It's a very tough call. Either way though it's an interesting conversation piece. 

 

 

Jim T

 

Service ribbons wouldn't work from your example, as a different roll with clusters of 5 stars are used for ribbon bars. Pm yours, portions of extra stars would get in the way/protrude and probably look pretty sloppy. 

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