Gold plated medals

[WAR II]

To all hands,
I have a gold plated Medal for Combat Service which has
very small serial numbers on the reverse. The numbers are about 2mm high and are filled with heated red lacquer. The serial number is 1,127,419. A search in Muzalevsky and Shishkov indicates it was awarded in 1944. Is this a reissue? I also have a Medal of Valor (Valour) that is gold plated. The numbers on the Medal of Valor (227630) are standard size and are not lacquered. As a matter of fact I have the following medals that are gold plated:
20th Anniversary of the RKKA (Star relacquered)
Defense of Moscow
Defense of the Caucasus
Defense of Sevastopol
Defense of Odessa
Liberation of Belgrade
Capture of Berlin
Victory over Germany
Victory over Japan
Veteran of the Armed Forces
Veteran of Labor
I would like to hear a discussion on gold plated medals. Are they plentiful? I know that McDaniel on his website said they may be issues to senior officers. I'd scan these if I knew how to make the attachments. So far, I haven't figured that out.

[Tal Inbar]

Could yo put some pictures? (I would LOVE to see veteran of labour with gold plating...) Is the gold plating on the medals is new or show signs of age?

[alconlon]

The reissues of the campaign medals were Gold Plated.These were issued later to those entitled that had not received them.


This is a photo of a type 3 Gold Plated Victory Over Germany medal.

Happy hunting.

Thanks,Al

[Sergey Tamayev]

An interesting thread. I was not aware that this was done to any medals. Could someone post the link to McDonald's site? Thanks.

[WAR II]

Hello Tal and Sergey,
I still haven't figured out how to attach pictures to show the gold plated medals I mentioned. Maybe someone can fill me in on how to do it.
Sergey, I can't give you a link to "McDonald", but I can give you a website to look up for McDaniel.
Try http://www.historicalresearch.com. He hasn't updated for a long time, but he does have a section of gold plated medals.
Best to all,
Bill

[Nota Bene]

Al,

Are you shure it's gold plating, and not just "mint luster"?

Alexei

Originally posted by alconlon
The reissues of the campaign medals were Gold Plated.These were issued later to those entitled that had not received them.


This is a photo of a type 3 Gold Plated Victory Over Germany medal.

Happy hunting.

Thanks,Al

[Nota Bene]

Here are two type 3 medals, both very shiny, but not gold plated.

Alexei

[Art]

Alexei,

Is there a reliable, non-destructive way to tell? I read on McDaniels site that he has seen these gold-plated campaign medals and he writes they were most likely awarded to "General officers and Marshalls". I would assume this would make them at least R3. I would trust the authenticity better if I found one in my collection than seeing a "Genuine gold-plated WWII award" up for sale on EBay.

I've looked into buying a non-destructive gold-testing device before, but the price was outrageous. This was a few years ago and prices may have fallen. I know there is a destructive test, but it involves rubbing a small bit of the gold onto an abrasive block, just enough to leave a mark, then adding chemicals to the mark and what I would guess is that a certain reaction is supposed to take place.

Art

[alconlon]

Alexei,

In McDaniels book,he mentions that the reissues of campaign medals have a "Thick Gold Wash".

I thought that meant real Gold,I could be completely incorrect since I have no way to test the medals in my collection.

Happy hunting.

Thanks,Al

[Nota Bene]

Al,

It's not gold. Those type 3 medals were stamped with polished dies, which is why they are so shiny.

Alexei

Originally posted by alconlon
Alexei,

In McDaniels book,he mentions that the reissues of campaign medals have a "Thick Gold Wash".

I thought that meant real Gold,I could be completely incorrect since I have no way to test the medals in my collection.

Happy hunting.

Thanks,Al