Coin Shows

Have you ever thought of doing a military medals exhibit? I’ve been to a lot of military and gun shows over the years and have often toyed with the idea of exhibiting. Each time I look in to it, I find that the exhibits if any are scattered through out the show, that I would have to pay for the exhibit space and provide my own display cases. Coin Shows on the other hand are very different. They are usually run by local coin clubs with membership dues at less than 10.00 per year. Members can set up exhibits for free and the club usually provides the cases. The exhibits are all in one area making it much easier for the public to find and view the displays.

The Numismatists Of Wisconsin show will be in Iola this weekend and you guessed it, I will be exhibiting military medals at this coin show.

Now here is one you will not see too often. This is the Medal of the Order of Resistance for resisting the WWII German occupation. Exactly what one had to do is unknown to me but in a small country like the Grand Duchy which only had a tiny 500 man armed force I’m sure resistance to the occupation was the only option. The obverse of the medal has Grand Duchess Charlotte’s portrait. The reverse has the Crowned Arms of Luxembourg within a double legend which roughly translates “The People of Luxembourg are grateful to their liberators.” and the inner legend, “We will remain what we are, Luxembourg.”

Researching this medal really brings out how much better coin collectors have it than military medal collectors do when it comes to available books and information. For U.S., British and Germany medals there are plenty of good books but try to find anything off the beaten track like Luxembourg. I sure wish there was a Standard Catalog of World Military Medals.