Should I sell war medals?

What the law says

In Britain there is nothing to stop anyone buying or selling military medals, and there is a lively market for them. The law is concerned with wearing them. It is an offence to wear medals in order to pass yourself off as someone who served, though owning medals that were not awarded to you is not. Most go into a display case or a drawer, and stay there.

Rules differ from country to country, so medals from abroad are worth asking about first. Some online marketplaces also refuse certain medals, such as the American Medal of Honor and Purple Heart, so read a site's rules before you list anything there.

Even the highest awards

The Victoria Cross is the highest British award for bravery, and it has been given only a small number of times since the 1850s. Nothing in the law stops even a Victoria Cross being sold.

Whether it is right

People feel strongly here, and they are not all of one mind. Some believe medals should stay in the family, kept safe and passed on, because each one belongs to someone's story and the story should be remembered.

Others point out that the people who buy medals are usually collectors who care about their history. They look after the medals and share what they know of their history. It is not always possible to keep a medal in the family, and attitudes to war have moved on, so many people have no wish to display one at home.

Each medal does come with a story, and that is much of the reason people love old items in the first place.

It also helps to know that some medals are common. Several campaigns gave a medal to everyone who took part, and the Second World War stars and the British War Medal were issued without the recipient's name, so a good many have drifted away from their owners.