medal - Orders, Decorations and Medals, Table medals, Competition Medals, Artist's Medals

A piece of metal, often in the form of a coin or cross, bearing a device or inscription, struck or cast in commemoration of an event or as a reward for merit. Medals may be awarded for personal bravery (eg Victoria Cross, Medal of Honor), for participation in an event or battle (eg Victoria Medal, awarded to soldiers of all Allied nations in World War 1), or for sports (eg Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals).

A Medal is a word used for various types of compact objects:

a wearable medal awarded by an authority government for services rendered, especially to a country (such as Armed force service); strictly speaking this only refers to a medal of coin-like appearance, but informally the word also refers to an Order (decoration); a table medal awarded by an organization for services in a specific field (such as the Nobel Prize or the Carnegie Hero Medal); a medal awarded to winners (usually Gold medal) and runners-up (usually Silver medal is for second place, Bronze medal is for third place, but variations exist, e.g. Some medals are however issued, either by official authorities or privately, on a large scale, often for sale (some largely meant to raise funds by the proceeds, even as a commercial enterprise) not as an individual distinction but rather as a souvenir, commemoration or other use without numerical limitation, such as devotional medals.

Orders, Decorations and Medals

Medal is a broad term that can indicate either an order, a decoration, or a medal.

This is the first documented mention in history of a medal.

An order is perhaps the most elaborate form of medals, typically awarded for distinguished services to a nation or to humanity. These "medals" (or insignia) of the orders are usually very elaborate, and can be worn in different ways depending on class.

A decoration is a less elaborate form of medal, typically shaped like a cross or a star. A medal is usually worn with a ribbon on the left chest.

The Medal of Honor of the United States armed forces is a bravery award worn around the neck, and may therefore be more rightly classified as a decoration. The Awards and decorations of the United States military list this country's medals.

Medals, as well as orders and decorations, are usually presented in a formal ceremony.

Table medals

Generally circular, table medals are issued for artistic, commemoration or souvenir purposes, not for commerce. Tokens and Table Medals of coin-like appearance are part of the Exonumia subcategory of Numismatics, while Orders, Decorations and Medals are considered Militaria (military related). This example of a medal would be displayed on a table or in a cabinet, rather than worn by the winner.

The Carnegie Hero Foundation is the issuer of a bravery medal, most commonly issued in the US and Canada but also in the UK. This large bronze table medal features Andrew Carnegie's likeness on the obverse and the name of the awardee and citation engraved on the reverse. While usually metal, table medals have been issued in wood, plastic, fibre and other compositions. The US Government awards gold medals on important occasions, with bronze copies available for public sale.

Competition Medals

Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics.

Artist's Medals

While artist's medals may take the form of competition medals, they more typically honor a particular place, event, or person (i.e., portrait medals). The field was invented by Pisanello, who was the first to cast bronze medals like sculpture, rather than minting them like coins.