The Army has seven values that are meant to be lived by all soldiers. The intention of these values is to provide soldiers with guidelines to live by, whether they are actively working in combat, or going about their civilian lives.

1. Loyalty – Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers. All soldiers are expected to be loyal to their country above all other things. By fulfilling their obligations and serving their country overseas and at home soldiers show their loyalty.

2. Duty – Fulfill your obligations. This value goes beyond simply doing the minimum to get a job done. Soldiers are expected to make sure every task assigned to them is done to the highest quality they can provide.

3. Respect – Treat people as they should be treated. Soldiers must honor all humans, which allows them to see the value of everyone. They are also expected to demonstrate self-respect and take care of themselves.

4. Selfless service – Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own. This could be considered the base point for many of the other values. The best soldiers become soldiers not because they want recognition or people to think highly of them, but because they want to serve their country and the world.

5. Honor – Live up to all the Army values. Honor is living every Army value everyday, and with every choice made. Being honorable goes beyond simply making good decisions, to being the best you can be at all times. It’s a matter not only knowing all the Army values, but constantly living them.

6. Integrity – Do what’s right, legally and morally. The easiest way that soldiers can have others think of them as having integrity is to always obey their conscience. This value attracts the respect of others, and helps build relationships, both on the battlefield and off.

7. Personal courage – Face fear, danger, or adversity (physical or moral). Every mission that a soldier takes part in requires physical courage. However, moral courage can be even harder to have. Moral courage involves standing up for what’s right and living all the Army values, even if not everyone else is.

Except for World War 2 most medals are named on rim so they are very easy to identify. There are hundreds of different regiments and of course different ranks for medals from 1799 to the present day. Lots of very good replicas of British Military Medals and replacement medals are sold to museums. Replica Medals are exact copies of the original British Military Medal for a certain campaign and supplied with ribbon and a plastic envelope to protect the medal. These are cast medals in high quality alloy if they come from a good dealer.

The replacement medals are die-struck so they are more expensive. Struck in nickel gilt and polished in silver gilt they cost more because these have made by a master craftsman who has carved out by hand and small machine – a “die”. This “die” can cost around two thousand dollars alone. Then you have the actual striking which is completed by a machine usually with a 250 ton press capacity.

Collectors, dealers, ex forces associations and even whole families frame replicas for show. This way, members of the same family can display their ancestors medals. It is usual for owners to keep the original medals in a safe or bank. Part of the reason is British Military Medals can command a very high premium indeed.

The Victoria Cross is the highest award in England and the Commonwealth, and is worn as the first medal over any other medal or order. A business guy who sold his company for over 350 million has bought over the years 100 VC groups for around 20 odd million dollars! There are hundreds of different Gallantry and Campaign medals.

So, as you have gathered, there is quite a good market in British Military Medals and each year a Medal yearbook with price guides is published. There are also Miniature Medal Collectors and even an association of Medal Ribbon collectors.

Other reasons why there is such a vibrant market is the British have been in so many wars over the years. We have wars when we, as ex-soldiers, were part of a forgotten army. Talk to people about the Malayan war which lasted from 1948 to 1960 or the Borneo confrontation of 1962 to 1965 and you get blank looks from people who were around during those times.

Medals have been a very good investment over the years. Now they are becoming scarce. Families are waking up to the fact that their parents, grandparents had a history. People are searching for details of their ancestors. It’s now all very searchable and the main reason is the Internet.