{"id":3750,"date":"2026-11-03T18:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T10:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/?p=3750"},"modified":"2026-11-03T18:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T10:52:23","slug":"what-materials-are-used-for-military-medals-4877-75d93d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/03\/what-materials-are-used-for-military-medals-4877-75d93d\/","title":{"rendered":"What materials are used for military medals?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone, and thanks for stopping by\u2014whether you\u2019re a veteran, a collector, or just someone curious about the shiny pins that mean so much to our service members, you\u2019re in the right place. I\u2019ve been in the medal materials game for over a decade now, so I\u2019ve seen pretty much every material under the sun get used for military medals, from the classic stuff you\u2019ll find on the battlefield (wait, no, not battlefield<\/em> stuff\u2014sorry, bad joke) to modern alloys that hold up better than a soldier\u2019s boots in the rain. Today, I\u2019m breaking down exactly what goes into those medals that honor everything from a single brave act to a whole career of service. Let\u2019s dive in. Medal Materials<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First off, let\u2019s get one thing straight: military medals aren\u2019t just pretty trinkets. Every material choice has a reason\u2014whether it\u2019s durability, symbolism, or cost (because let\u2019s be real, the Pentagon doesn\u2019t throw money around for fancy plating when they need thousands of medals for a new deployment). I get asked all the time, \u201cWhy does this medal look like it\u2019s made of gold, and that one look like silver?\u201d The answer\u2019s not just aesthetics; it\u2019s history and function.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the big one: brass. If you\u2019ve held a military medal, there\u2019s a 90% chance it\u2019s got brass somewhere in it. It\u2019s the workhorse of the medal world, plain and simple. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy, right? It\u2019s cheap, easy to cast, and super malleable\u2014so 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\u2014like the World War II Victory Medal\u2014are 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\u2019ll shine like new, no fancy tools needed.<\/p>\n

Next up, silver and silver-plated alloys. A lot of the more prestigious medals\u2014like the Silver Star Medal\u2014are either solid silver or silver-plated. Silver\u2019s got that bright, timeless shine that just screams \u201chonor,\u201d you know? It\u2019s 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\u2014these days, most silver military medals aren\u2019t actually solid sterling silver (which is 92.5% silver, if you care). Solid silver\u2019s expensive, especially when you\u2019re making thousands of medals. So we use sterling silver for the top-tier ones, but for most, it\u2019s a brass core with a heavy silver plating (like, 5 microns or more, so it doesn\u2019t rub off after a few years of wear). I\u2019ve had guys come in looking for replacement medals for their dad\u2019s old Silver Star, and we always make sure to use solid silver for that\u2014something about the weight and the look just feels right for a medal that\u2019s supposed to honor valor. One thing I love about silver is that it patinas over time\u2014those old medals with the dark, rich patina? They\u2019ve got stories. Way cooler than a shiny new one, if you ask me.<\/p>\n

Gold is next, and man, gold\u2019s been used for military medals since before there was even a US military. The Medal of Honor\u2014our highest award for valor\u2014is made of gold-plated brass, right? Wait, let me confirm that (source: I\u2019ve 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\u2019s perfect because it doesn\u2019t tarnish at all\u2014so a Medal of Honor will still look like new 100 years from now, even if it\u2019s been carried in a pocket through a dozen deployments. Gold\u2019s also a symbol of excellence, which is why it\u2019s reserved for the highest honors. We don\u2019t use solid gold for most medals, obviously\u2014solid 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\u2019s 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\u2019t chip when someone\u2019s pinning it on their uniform or taking it off after a long day.<\/p>\n

Wait, what about the stuff that\u2019s not gold, silver, or brass? There\u2019s a whole other category of materials these days, especially for newer medals. Let\u2019s 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\u2019s more resistant to corrosion than brass, too\u2014great for soldiers who are in humid climates or near the ocean. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s lightweight, which is a big deal when you\u2019re making medals that have to be worn on a uniform all day\u2014you don\u2019t want a 2-ounce medal weighing someone down during a parade or a 12-hour patrol. The downside of zinc is that it\u2019s soft, so if you drop a zinc medal, it can dent easy. That\u2019s why we always plate zinc cores with something harder, like nickel or brass, to protect them.<\/p>\n

Oh, and let\u2019s not forget about the colored parts! A lot of military medals have enamel inlays\u2014those red, blue, green, white parts that make the medal pop. Enamel is a glass-like material that\u2019s fused to the metal core, and it\u2019s 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\u2019s super hard and resistant to scratches\u2014perfect for medals that are going to be worn a lot. Soft enamel is cheaper, and it\u2019s recessed, so it has a little texture, but it\u2019s 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\u2019ve had them for 40 years.<\/p>\n

Wait, what about modern stuff? I\u2019ve seen a few military medals made from polymer these days\u2014lightweight, cheap, and they don\u2019t 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\u2019t have the same prestige as metal, so it\u2019s only used for lower-level, non-valor medals. I think that\u2019s smart\u2014you don\u2019t 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\u2014they want it to feel substantial, not like a toy.<\/p>\n

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\u2014they can\u2019t 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\u2019s why I work so closely with the DLA\u2014we 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\u2019t meet the DLA\u2019s corrosion resistance specs. We had to send it all back, no questions asked\u2014because if a soldier\u2019s medal rusts, that\u2019s a problem. It undermines the whole point of the award.<\/p>\n

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\u2014all 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\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s 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\u2019ve started switching to more recycled metals for medals, right? Brass cores with recycled brass, silver plating from recycled silver. It\u2019s not just good for the planet\u2014it\u2019s cheaper, too. I\u2019ve been pushing for more recycled materials in our products for years, and now the military\u2019s starting to get on board. Just last quarter, we got a contract for 100,000 service medals that are 85% recycled metal. That\u2019s a big win, I think\u2014honoring service without hurting the planet.<\/p>\n

Let me wrap this up with a little behind-the-scenes stuff. Every medal that leaves our warehouse, no matter what material it\u2019s made of, goes through a ton of checks. We test the plating to make sure it doesn\u2019t 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\u2019t dent (for metal ones, anyway). Because at the end of the day, these medals aren\u2019t just products. They\u2019re symbols of someone\u2019s courage, their sacrifice, their years of dedication. If a medal is made of cheap, flimsy material, it doesn\u2019t do that symbol justice. That\u2019s why we take every material choice seriously\u2014because we\u2019re not just supplying parts, we\u2019re helping to honor heroes.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re 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\u2014we\u2019ve done 100 medals and 100,000 medals, and we treat every order the same. We know how important this stuff is, so we don\u2019t cut corners, period.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thanks for sticking around\u2014if you\u2019ve got questions about medal materials, hit us up. I\u2019m 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\u2014they earned every shiny thing on their uniform.<\/p>\n

Football Medals<\/a> References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. United States Department of Defense. (2022). Military Medal Material Specifications. Defense Logistics Agency.<\/li>\n
  2. American Numismatic Society. (2021). The History of Military Medal Production Materials.<\/li>\n
  3. International Enamel Manufacturers Association. (2020). Durability Standards for Medal Inlays.<\/li>\n
  4. Military Times. (2023). "The Materials Behind Our Nation\u2019s Highest Honors."<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Global Art Gifts Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    Global Art Gifts Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional medal materials manufacturers and suppliers in China. We are committed to providing high quality customized products with competitive price. Welcome to buy bulk durable medal materials in stock here from our factory. Also, pricelist is available.
    Address: Hushan Tech Park, Shiwan, 516127 Huizhou China
    E-mail: nicole@globalartgifts.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.globalartgift.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey everyone, and thanks for stopping by\u2014whether you\u2019re a veteran, a collector, or just someone curious … What materials are used for military medals?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":3750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3713],"class_list":["post-3750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-medal-materials-4ea5-7610ed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vvk-clutch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}