Medallic Confusion

It may bug me more than others but I think this topic needs to be aired. Almost every where I look I find locally issued WWI souvenir and service medals listed as though they are the same thing. They are not the same thing!! One needs to read the inscriptions on the medals. If on the medal we find the words SOUVENIR or WELCOME HOME CELEBRATION or similar wording like the two medals illustrated below on the left it is a SOUVENIR medal which was issued to organizers and workers of the event and sold to the public to finance the event. To get this medal one did not have to be a military veteran. Like the ribboned medal at the right, if we find the words “Presented by…. For…. World War…” then we have an actual service medal that was only given to actual war veterans. That distinction makes a world of difference and I sure wish that everyone would care enough to list these medals correctly.