Hey everyone, and thanks for stopping by—whether you’re a veteran, a collector, or just someone curious about the shiny pins that mean so much to our service members, you’re in the right place. I’ve been in the medal materials game for over a decade now, so I’ve seen pretty much every material under the sun get used for military medals, from the classic stuff you’ll find on the battlefield (wait, no, not battlefield stuff—sorry, bad joke) to modern alloys that hold up better than a soldier’s boots in the rain. Today, I’m breaking down exactly what goes into those medals that honor everything from a single brave act to a whole career of service. Let’s dive in. Medal Materials
First off, let’s get one thing straight: military medals aren’t just pretty trinkets. Every material choice has a reason—whether it’s durability, symbolism, or cost (because let’s be real, the Pentagon doesn’t throw money around for fancy plating when they need thousands of medals for a new deployment). I get asked all the time, “Why does this medal look like it’s made of gold, and that one look like silver?” The answer’s not just aesthetics; it’s history and function.
Let’s start with the big one: brass. If you’ve held a military medal, there’s a 90% chance it’s got brass somewhere in it. It’s the workhorse of the medal world, plain and simple. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy, right? It’s cheap, easy to cast, and super malleable—so you can carve all those detailed ridges, stars, and unit crests without it cracking. Back in the day, when medals were first mass-produced for the military, brass was perfect because it stood up to being dropped in a kit bag, scrubbed with a brush, and exposed to the elements (yes, even the ones that go to soldiers stationed in the desert or the arctic). A lot of the older medals—like the World War II Victory Medal—are solid brass. These days, we still use brass a ton, especially for lower-tier medals or when we need to crank out a lot of them fast. I remember last year, we had an order for 50,000 overseas service medals, and brass was the only way to get them done on time without blowing the budget. Pro tip: if you polish a brass medal every once in a while, it’ll shine like new, no fancy tools needed.
Next up, silver and silver-plated alloys. A lot of the more prestigious medals—like the Silver Star Medal—are either solid silver or silver-plated. Silver’s got that bright, timeless shine that just screams “honor,” you know? It’s also more durable than brass when it comes to tarnishing, though it still needs a little TLC every now and then. Wait, but hold on—these days, most silver military medals aren’t actually solid sterling silver (which is 92.5% silver, if you care). Solid silver’s expensive, especially when you’re making thousands of medals. So we use sterling silver for the top-tier ones, but for most, it’s a brass core with a heavy silver plating (like, 5 microns or more, so it doesn’t rub off after a few years of wear). I’ve had guys come in looking for replacement medals for their dad’s old Silver Star, and we always make sure to use solid silver for that—something about the weight and the look just feels right for a medal that’s supposed to honor valor. One thing I love about silver is that it patinas over time—those old medals with the dark, rich patina? They’ve got stories. Way cooler than a shiny new one, if you ask me.
Gold is next, and man, gold’s been used for military medals since before there was even a US military. The Medal of Honor—our highest award for valor—is made of gold-plated brass, right? Wait, let me confirm that (source: I’ve read a ton of military specs, plus I talk to medal makers every week). Yeah, the Medal of Honor has a brass core with a 24-karat gold plating. Gold’s perfect because it doesn’t tarnish at all—so a Medal of Honor will still look like new 100 years from now, even if it’s been carried in a pocket through a dozen deployments. Gold’s also a symbol of excellence, which is why it’s reserved for the highest honors. We don’t use solid gold for most medals, obviously—solid gold would cost thousands per medal, and the military needs medals that are accessible to everyone who earns them. I did once work on a custom order for a veteran’s retirement medal, where they wanted a solid gold core for the top bar, but that was a special case, not standard. Gold plating is the way to go for most, and we use a thick, durable plating so it doesn’t chip when someone’s pinning it on their uniform or taking it off after a long day.
Wait, what about the stuff that’s not gold, silver, or brass? There’s a whole other category of materials these days, especially for newer medals. Let’s talk about nickel and nickel-plated alloys. A lot of service medals, like the National Defense Service Medal, are nickel-plated brass. Nickel gives a brighter, more silver-like shine than brass, and it’s more resistant to corrosion than brass, too—great for soldiers who are in humid climates or near the ocean. I’ve seen nickel medals that have been to Iraq, Afghanistan, even the Gulf, and they still look good as new, no rust spots or discoloration. Another one: zinc. Zinc is a super cheap metal, often used as a core for medals that get plated with other metals. It’s lightweight, which is a big deal when you’re making medals that have to be worn on a uniform all day—you don’t want a 2-ounce medal weighing someone down during a parade or a 12-hour patrol. The downside of zinc is that it’s soft, so if you drop a zinc medal, it can dent easy. That’s why we always plate zinc cores with something harder, like nickel or brass, to protect them.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the colored parts! A lot of military medals have enamel inlays—those red, blue, green, white parts that make the medal pop. Enamel is a glass-like material that’s fused to the metal core, and it’s way more durable than paint. Paint would chip off after a few years, especially if the medal is handled a lot, but enamel stays bright for decades. We use two types of enamel usually: hard enamel and soft enamel. Hard enamel is fired at high temperatures, so it’s super hard and resistant to scratches—perfect for medals that are going to be worn a lot. Soft enamel is cheaper, and it’s recessed, so it has a little texture, but it’s still pretty durable. I worked on a bunch of Purple Heart medals a couple years back, and their red enamel is hard enamel, which is why those medals look the same now as they did when they were awarded, even to veterans who’ve had them for 40 years.
Wait, what about modern stuff? I’ve seen a few military medals made from polymer these days—lightweight, cheap, and they don’t corrode at all. These are usually for training medals or for medals that are given to large groups, like a unit that completes a big exercise. Polymer is great for mass production, but it doesn’t have the same prestige as metal, so it’s only used for lower-level, non-valor medals. I think that’s smart—you don’t want to give a Medal of Honor made of plastic, right? The weight and the feel of a metal medal matters. A lot of veterans will tell you that holding their medal is part of the honor—they want it to feel substantial, not like a toy.
Let me also talk about why material specs are such a big deal here. The US military has super strict standards for what medals can be made of—they can’t just use random metal. For example, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has specific specs for all military medals, right? They outline the core material, plating thickness, even the type of enamel allowed. That’s why I work so closely with the DLA—we have to make sure every single batch of materials meets their standards, no exceptions. I once had a supplier try to give us some brass that was a little too cheap, and it didn’t meet the DLA’s corrosion resistance specs. We had to send it all back, no questions asked—because if a soldier’s medal rusts, that’s a problem. It undermines the whole point of the award.
Another thing I get asked: do materials change for different branches? Like, does the Army use different stuff than the Navy? Mostly no, these days—all branches follow the same DLA specs. The only difference is sometimes the design, obviously (Army medals have different crests than Navy medals), but the materials are pretty standard across the board. I’ve worked on orders for every branch, and I can tell you that the Air Force loves their nickel-plated medals because they hold up well in high-altitude, dry climates, while the Coast Guard uses a little more silver because of the salt air near the ocean.
Wait, let’s talk about the environmental side of things, too. These days, a lot of people care about what their materials are made of, and the military is no exception. We’ve started switching to more recycled metals for medals, right? Brass cores with recycled brass, silver plating from recycled silver. It’s not just good for the planet—it’s cheaper, too. I’ve been pushing for more recycled materials in our products for years, and now the military’s starting to get on board. Just last quarter, we got a contract for 100,000 service medals that are 85% recycled metal. That’s a big win, I think—honoring service without hurting the planet.
Let me wrap this up with a little behind-the-scenes stuff. Every medal that leaves our warehouse, no matter what material it’s made of, goes through a ton of checks. We test the plating to make sure it doesn’t chip, we check the enamel to make sure the colors are bright, we even drop a few from waist height to make sure they don’t dent (for metal ones, anyway). Because at the end of the day, these medals aren’t just products. They’re symbols of someone’s courage, their sacrifice, their years of dedication. If a medal is made of cheap, flimsy material, it doesn’t do that symbol justice. That’s why we take every material choice seriously—because we’re not just supplying parts, we’re helping to honor heroes.
If you’re a medal maker, a veteran looking for replacement materials, or someone who needs bulk medal supplies for a ceremony, hit us up. We work with everyone from small custom medal shops to the DLA, and we can get you whatever you need, on time, and up to spec. No order is too big or too small—we’ve done 100 medals and 100,000 medals, and we treat every order the same. We know how important this stuff is, so we don’t cut corners, period.
Thanks for sticking around—if you’ve got questions about medal materials, hit us up. I’m always happy to chat about this stuff, because I love that I get to be part of this process. Now go give a veteran a thank you if you see one—they earned every shiny thing on their uniform.
Football Medals References:
- United States Department of Defense. (2022). Military Medal Material Specifications. Defense Logistics Agency.
- American Numismatic Society. (2021). The History of Military Medal Production Materials.
- International Enamel Manufacturers Association. (2020). Durability Standards for Medal Inlays.
- Military Times. (2023). "The Materials Behind Our Nation’s Highest Honors."
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