Should you sell at all? The answer first
If you are not sure you want to part with medals, it is worth saying plainly that selling is not always the right answer. If the medals are named, that naming is a record of one person and it can be traced. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the service records at the National Archives, and the relevant regimental museum or association will usually fill in the story for nothing, and some museums accept a group on loan or by donation so it stays with the unit it was earned in. Specialist auction is another legitimate route. If you would regret selling, do not sell.
What actually determines value
Medals are not priced by weight. Two questions decide almost every valuation: is it named, and what did the person it was awarded to do.
- Naming. First World War British campaign medals were impressed around the rim with service number, rank, surname, initials and unit. That naming is the medal’s identity and usually the bulk of its value. A rim ground flat, erased or re-engraved is worth a fraction of an honest one.
- The unit and the recipient. A trio to a private in a common regiment is one thing. The same trio to a man who died on service, an early 1914 arrival, a Royal Flying Corps man or a battalion tied to a well-known action is another entirely.
- Completeness of the group. Medals to one person are worth more together than split up, and more again with the original ribbons, box, forwarding slip or scroll. Never break a group up to sell it piecemeal.
- Condition and originality. Original ribbons and honest toning are wanted. Polishing, lacquer, replacement ribbons and alterations for wear all reduce what a collector pays.
- Metal content, last. Bullion value is the starting figure, not the ceiling, and for most British medals it is a very low starting figure.
How to tell what you are holding
The most useful distinction in a British family collection is which war the medals came from. First World War campaign medals were named around the rim. The 1914 Star and 1914-15 Star are bronze, the British War Medal 1914-20 is sterling silver at roughly 32 grams with its suspender, and the Victory Medal is bronze; the last three are the group collectors call Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. Second World War British stars and medals were issued unnamed, and none are silver: the stars are a copper-zinc alloy, the War Medal and Defence Medal cupro-nickel. That is the reason a full Second World War set is usually worth less than one named First World War pair. Australian, Indian and South African issues of the same medals were named, and those are a different proposition.
The bronze memorial plaque, often called the death plaque or the dead man’s penny, went to the next of kin of each service member who died, with the name cast into it and no rank shown. Around 1.35 million were issued, so they are not rare, and bronze has no bullion value. Precious metal appears elsewhere: the British War Medal, most long service and good conduct medals, the Silver War Badge of 1916, hallmarked officers’ badges, and sweetheart brooches, which are often 9ct gold or sterling silver and sometimes the only precious metal in the box. Where a piece is solid gold or silver we confirm the purity on our in-house XRF analyser and give you both figures, metal and collector assessment, so you can see which is higher.
What we buy, and what we refer elsewhere
- Campaign, service, long service and good conduct medals, single or as a full named group
- Memorial plaques and scrolls, Silver War Badges and other next-of-kin material
- Cap badges, buttons, sweetheart brooches and regimental jewellery, gold, silver or base metal
- Regimental silver and presentation pieces, cigarette cases, tankards, salvers and inscribed plate
- Mixed house-clearance and probate lots of medals and militaria, unsorted, exactly as found
There are things we will not buy, and we would rather set them out here than after you have posted. Victoria Crosses, George Crosses and significant gallantry awards attract collector, legal and ethical scrutiny beyond what a postal buyer should take on; they belong with a specialist medal auction house and we will point you towards one. Items bearing proscribed insignia, where resale is restricted, are outside what we handle. Firearms, edged weapons, ordnance and ammunition, inert or otherwise, cannot be sent through the post and we do not deal in them.
Provenance, identification and why we ask
Named medals are traceable, which is precisely why they are stolen and precisely why we check. GoldPaid asks how the medals came to you, requires photo identification, and asks you to confirm in writing that you own them and are entitled to sell them. We cannot buy anything without clear ownership; where provenance is unclear we decline and return the items. The same applies to church, memorial and mourning material.
How it works
- Ask first and send photos. Photograph the front, back and rim of each medal, plus any ribbons, boxes, scrolls or paperwork. Rim naming photographs best in daylight at a shallow angle.
- Request a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, usually within 30 minutes during working hours. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
- Post the group whole. Wrap each medal so they cannot rub together and send the group as it stands, with any documents. There is no deadline.
- We research and assess by hand. Naming is read and checked, groups are looked up, and any solid gold or silver is XRF-tested for purity. You receive a written, no-obligation valuation separating collector value from metal value.
- Accept or decline. Accept and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post.
Cover in transit
The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature on delivery. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. For higher-value items, please message us first so the parcel can be split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully. If a parcel is lost on its way to us, the compensation claim goes to Royal Mail from you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt, and we give you our tracking records and help you make it. Lost parcels, step by step.
If the offer is not for you
Then nothing happens except a free return. We send your items back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost, with no fee for declining and no follow-up. A valuation is only worth having if you can turn it down freely, so you can. See what happens if I decline the offer.
The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses before you decide, we re-run it against the live precious-metal market on the day, at no charge. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty for splitting it.
Who this helps
Families who have inherited a relative’s medals and want a straight answer before deciding anything, executors handling an estate that includes militaria, and people clearing a house who have found a tin of badges at the back of a wardrobe. If the box also holds medallions, coins or a watch, see sell medals and medallions and the watches, coins, medals and stamps hub.
Payment, once you accept
When you say yes to the written offer, GoldPaid aims to pay by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to your nominated account. You give those details only at the point you accept, never as a condition of getting an offer.
Common questions
Are my grandfather’s medals worth anything?
Often yes, but rarely for the reason people expect. If they are named First World War medals, the naming, the unit and what happened to the man carry most of the value, and a researched group can be worth considerably more than its metal. If they are unnamed Second World War British medals, they are base metal and common, so the figure is modest and we will say so. Send photographs of both sides and the rim on WhatsApp and you get a plain indication before anything is posted.
How much are WW1 medals worth?
It depends almost entirely on the naming. A British War Medal and Victory Medal pair to an ordinary infantryman sits at the modest end. The same pair to a casualty, an early 1914 arrival, a Royal Flying Corps man or a scarce unit sits well above it, and a complete group with the original box, ribbons and paperwork higher again. The British War Medal is sterling silver, so there is a small metal value, but for a named medal the collector value is normally the higher of the two. Final offers depend on inspection, naming, condition, completeness and current collector demand.
Why are my grandad’s WW2 medals worth so little?
Because British Second World War campaign stars and medals were issued unnamed and in very large numbers, and they are not made of precious metal. The stars are a copper-zinc alloy and the War Medal and Defence Medal are cupro-nickel. There is no silver content to fall back on and no naming to research, so the collector market values them accordingly. Australian, Indian and South African issues of the same medals were named and are treated differently. We would rather tell you this plainly than talk around it.
What is a death plaque and should I sell it?
The bronze memorial plaque, sometimes called the dead man’s penny, was sent to the next of kin of each service member who died, with the name cast into it. About 1.35 million were issued. There is no bullion value in the bronze, so the worth lies in the name, the surviving scroll and any medals that belong with it. Many families choose to keep or donate them instead, and a regimental museum or the relevant association is worth contacting before you decide. If you do want to sell, send a photograph and we will value it properly rather than by weight.
Will you melt down my medals?
Not if they are named or gallantry awards. We research the naming first and tell you what we find, and if we cannot place a named medal as a collectable it is returned to you rather than scrapped. Unnamed base-metal commemoratives and damaged plated oddments are a different case, and we will tell you clearly which category each item falls into before you accept anything.
Do I need to prove the medals are mine?
Yes. Named medals are traceable, so we ask how they came to you, require photo identification, and ask you to confirm in writing that you own them and are entitled to sell them. If ownership is not clear we decline and return everything. It is a short step and it is what keeps the market for named medals honest.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Get a free Royal Mail label by email
Free, and it commits you to nothing. We test your items when they arrive and send a written offer; anything you decline comes back free.
Rather ask a question or send a photo first? Message us on WhatsApp.
GOLDPAID LTD · 07944 014111