YOUR MEDALS MANAGE THE RISK

Former Victorian Policeman, Arthur Mitchell, has hundreds of stories about lost service medals. From families fighting over ownership and “cutting-up” the set; coats with medals attached being misplaced on “big days out”; and theft during burglaries to name just a few.

Nowadays Arthur works for us as head of Medal Services here in Canberra and he says the stories of lost original medals can be heartbreaking.

“In one case earlier this year at 94 year old great grandmother in NSW had her father’s Great War and Second World War medals stolen in a B&E.  She and the rest of her family were devastated,” he said. “These were priceless memories shared by all generations of this one family. We donated a replica set but at day’s end the medals earned and worn by her dad are gone.”

Arthur says there is little people can do about theft of originals, other than buying a secure safe, but when it comes to preventing the loss of medals the safest option is to wear replicas rather than originals.

“Today about 90 percent of people choose to wear replicas. Apart from the fact that we will not engrave the replicas and we have “replica” stamped subtly on the medal rim, these replicas are indistinguishable from the originals.”

Arthur's team handles thousands of orders for replica medals each year - from the Boer War through to Afghanistan, and his team members are well versed in interpreting military service records to determine what awards were bestowed.

According to Arthur there has been a big increase in the number of replica sets being ordered to share across families. “This is a wonderful development. The originals can be passed down in tact and other family members can each keep a set as part of their family history.

We have also noticed that more and more people are having a number of replica medal sets created for special gifts to their children and grandchildren. This is a special way in which they can share and pass down their military history to the next generations.”

As well as replica medals Arthur's team also provides one of Australia’s leading medal mounting and refurbishing services. The company places great care in protecting originals entrusted to it for these services.  Every medal is treated as a priceless heirloom and security measures see the medals stored in fireproof safes, hand-delivered if additional expertise is needed and tracked while moving about the facility. 

“We take no chances. These are priceless and irreplaceable. At every stage we have original medals secured in safes or in the hands of trusted people. If the owner insists on posting we insist on using our secure courier.  Nothing is worth the risk of losing an original medal.”

We also provide miniatures, ribbon bars (including plastic coated ribbon bars), clasps, rosettes, as well as custom storage boxes and framing.

To find out more you can speak to Arthur or the team on (02) 6123 2950