Information about medal

A medal is a small metal object, usually engraved with insignia, that is awarded to a person for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of achievement. There also exist devotional medals, worn to indicate religious faith.

Medal of Cecilia Gonzaga, by Pisanello 1447. Medals like these were given to friends and other rulers

Orders, Decorations and Medals

Medal is a broad term that can indicate either an order, a decoration, or a true medal. The Jewish historian Josephus records that when, in the 4th century BCE, Jonathan, the high priest, led the Hebrews to aid Alexander the Great, Alexander "sent to Jonathan... honorary awards, as a golden button, which it is custom to give the king's kinsmen." This is the first documented mention in history of a medal.

Polish Colonel Stefan Szlaszewski in full dress uniform displaying several medals, 1938

From the late Middle Ages on, it was common for rulers and other wealthy persons to commission personal medals, often as large as three inches across, usually with their portrait on the obverse (front) and an emblem on the reverse. These were presented to friends and followers, or given to other rulers. They were not intended to be worn, although some were set as pendants on chains around the neck. They would often be produced in different metals, from gold to lead, depending on the status of the recipient. Sometimes medals to commemorate specific events, including military victories, were commissioned, and from this grew the military medal which later became an object to be worn, normally only given to military participants.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in full dress uniform displaying several medals and ribbons.

An order is perhaps the most elaborate form of medals, typically awarded for distinguished services to a nation or to humanity. An order differs from other forms of medal in that it often implies a membership of an organization. This is because orders were originally fraternities of knighthood (see Order (decoration); even today most orders have several classes, known as knights, commanders, officers, members et cetera. These "medals" (or insignia) of the orders are usually very elaborate, and can be worn in different ways depending on class.

For a full treatment on orders, see Order (decoration).

The British Victoria Cross Medal Ribbon and Bar

A decoration is a less elaborate form of medal, typically shaped like a cross or a star. It is usually awarded for one-off actions of some type, and is usually worn with a ribbon on the left chest. The Victoria Cross is the highest British decoration for bravery in war. This decoration is worn on the left side suspended by a ribbon.

A medal is usually the most junior of all the awards, usually shaped like a circle or otherwise like a coin. It is usually awarded for participation in a particular organization, but it may also be for one-off actions of some kind. In the latter case, the boundary between a medal and decoration is blurred. A medal is usually worn with a ribbon on the left chest.

Three different United States Medals of Honor currently exist, one each for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The Medal of Honor of the United States armed forces is a bravery award worn around the neck, and may therefore be more rightly classified as a decoration. The Awards and decorations of the United States military list this country's medals.

Military medal presented on parade. (Canada)

Medals, as well as orders and decorations, are usually presented in a formal ceremony. These awards are normally worn on formal occasions only; on everyday occasions, only the ribbons of such awards are worn.

Table medals

Generally circular, table medals are issued for artistic, commemoration or souvenir purposes, not for commerce. Tokens and Table Medals of coin-like appearance are part of the Exonumia subcategory of Numismatics, while Orders, Decorations and Medals are considered Militaria (military related). In the U.S. Military, modern medals are often referred to as challenge coins.

The Nobel Foundation, the organization awarding the prestigious Nobel Prize, presents each winner "an assignment for the amount of the prize, a diploma, and a gold medal..." This example of a medal would be displayed on a table or in a cabinet, rather than worn by the winner.

The Carnegie Hero Foundation is the issuer of a bravery medal, most commonly issued in the US and Canada but also in the UK. This large bronze table medal features Andrew Carnegie's likeness on the obverse and the name of the awardee and citation engraved on the reverse. It is usually issued for lifesaving incidents.

Also related are plaques and plaquettes. While usually metal, table medals have been issued in wood, plastic, fibre and other compositions. The US Government awards gold medals on important occasions, with bronze copies available for public sale.

Competition Medals

A medal on a ribbon designed to be worn around the winner's neck.

Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics.

Traditionally, medals are made of the following metals:

Gold (or another yellow metal, e.g. brass)
Silver (or another grey metal, e.g. steel)
Bronze

These metals designate the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods; the Silver age, where youth lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes. (The current age is called the Iron Age.) Note that the metals are progressively more prone to corrosion.

This standard was adopted at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not medals.

Artist's Medals

While artist's medals may take the form of competition medals, they more typically honor a particular place, event, or person (i.e., portrait medals). The field was invented by Pisanello, who was the first to cast bronze medals like sculpture, rather than minting them like coins.

Idioms involving the term medal

The idiom "What do you want, a medal?" is used in British English, usually with sarcasm, to imply that someone is claiming that their achievements are more significant than they actually are.

Many medals, ribbons and awards on a single soldier are sometimes referred to as "Fruit-salad".

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Insignia see Oceania Cruises

''For the Band Insignium see Insignium

Insignia (the plural of Latin insigne: emblem, symbol) is a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or
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devotional medal is a medal issued for religious devotion.

A medal may be defined to be a piece of metal, usually in the form of a coin, not used as money, but struck or cast for a commemorative purpose, and adorned with some appropriate effigy, device, or inscription.
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Order is a decoration, awarded by a government to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.

Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry.
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Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, based on principles and ethics embodied in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Talmud. According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca.
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Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 AD),^[1] who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus,^[2] was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the
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Alexander III, the Great
Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt

Alexander fighting Persian king Darius III. From Alexander Mosaic, from Pompeii, Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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See Obversion for the use of "obverse" in logic.

The term obverse, and its opposite, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects, most often in reference to coins, but also to flags, medals,
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emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.
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pendant (from Old French) is a hanging object, generally attached to a necklace or an earring. In modern French this is a word meaning “during” (also the gerund form of "hanging"). Pendants have several purposes:

ornamentation
identification (i.e.

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Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other postnominals and medals.
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COIN can refer to:

Collaborative Innovation Networks
Counterinsurgency
Coin

This article is about monetary coins.

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Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because the President presents the award "in the name of the Congress".
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Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Armed Forces
(1979) Get Happy
(1980)

Alternate cover

US 1979 and 2002 reissue cover, also known as "paint spatter cover"

For the military meaning, see Armed forces.

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Awards and decorations of the United States military are military decorations which recognize a service member's service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces.
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Ribbon bars are small devices that are worn by Military, Police, Fire Service personnel or by civilians. Ribbon bars are mainly used when wearing either the full decoration or medal is considered inappropriate.
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token coins or tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape.
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Exonumia is the study of coin-like objects such as token coins and medals, and other items used in place of legal currency or for commemoration. This includes elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, badges, counterstamped coins, wooden nickels
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Numismatics (Lat. numisma, nomisma, a coin; from the Greek, derived from voµi eiv, to use according to law), is the scientific study of currency and its history in all its varied forms.
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Militaria are artifacts or replicas of military, police, etc., collected for their historical significance. Such antiques include firearms, swords, knives, and other weapons; uniforms, helmets, other military headgear, and armour; military orders and decorations; challenge
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United States Armed Forces is the military service of the United States and is structured into five branches.

U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
U.S. Air Force
U.S.

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challenge coin is a small coin or medallion (usually military), bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and is carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale.
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commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event.
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In physics, lattice gauge theory is the study of the behaviour of lattice model gauge theories. That is, it is the study of gauge theories on a spacetime that has been discretized onto a lattice.
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GOLD refers to one of the following:

GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade).
GOLD (parser) is an open source BNF parser.

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Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses, each of which has unique properties^[1]. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin.^[2].
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Medal

Orders, Decorations and Medals

Table medals

Competition Medals

Artist's Medals

Idioms involving the term medal

See also

External links