How to Frame Medals

Framing medals means building a deep display case in which every medal is held securely, in the correct order, without a single hole drilled or drop of glue touching the pieces. Done properly, the mounting is fully reversible: the medals can come back out years later, unmarked, ready to be worn on parade or passed on.

This guide walks through the process as we run it in our workshop, from a single campaign medal to a full court-mounted group.

Every display starts with an assessment

Before anything is built, the medals are assessed: their condition, their weight, whether ribbons are original or replacements, and how you want them presented. Loose medals, court-mounted bars, miniatures, ribbon bars and clasps all mount differently, and the layout is agreed with you before construction begins.

How medals are mounted without damage

We use several techniques depending on the medal. Entomology pins hold medals by their suspension rings or clasps without piercing the medal itself. Heavier pieces sit on cushion mounts, shaped fabric-covered supports that spread the weight evenly. Ribbon bars are dressed and pinned flat against acid-free backing board, keeping the silk taut without adhesive, and loose medals get individual pockets cut from conservation-grade card so each piece sits in its own recess. Every method is reversible, so the medals can be removed and returned without marks or residue.

Nothing goes through the ribbon

This is worth stating separately, because it is the point most often got wrong. The ribbon is not the packaging: on a military group it carries as much of the record as the medal does, and it is the part that cannot be replaced with an equivalent.

Silk and grosgrain are also precisely the materials you do not perforate. A needle hole in grosgrain does not close, because the weave is a heavy rib that holds the hole open. On silk it can start a run that spreads with any further handling. So a stitched mount taken through the ribbon to hold a medal in place is doing permanent damage to the more fragile half of the object in order to secure the more durable half, and describing it as discreet does not change what it is.

We engage the suspension ring or the clasp instead, so the fixing works against metal rather than textile. The other half of the same principle is that original ribbon is retained rather than replaced. Faded, frayed or shortened original ribbon is still the ribbon that was issued or worn, and swapping it for fresh ribbon produces a tidier display of a less complete object. Where a ribbon is genuinely too degraded to support the medal, we support it rather than substitute it, and we say so on the quote so the choice stays yours.

Military groups: getting the order right

Correct ordering matters when framing military medals. Court-mounted groups follow the precedence set by the Ministry of Defence, with campaign medals ordered by date and long-service awards placed after operational decorations. We research the correct sequence for each group and arrange it accordingly, whether the set is court-mounted on a single bar or swing-mounted individually. Miniatures, ribbon bars and clasps are incorporated in their proper positions, so the display presents the group exactly as it would be worn.

Marathon and sports medals

Sports and achievement medals tend to be larger and heavier than military decorations, so the approach adjusts: deeper frames, stronger fixings, and layouts that give ribbons and lanyards room to hang without folding or bunching. Multiple marathon medals can be arranged in chronological order, competition awards grouped by discipline, or academic medals combined with certificates in one display. The same thinking behind our guide to framing a football shirt applies here: the object leads, the frame follows.

Adding photographs, badges and documents

Many medal displays tell a broader story with photographs, certificates, cap badges, shoulder titles or regiment patches alongside the medals. Photos and documents are mounted on acid-free board behind conservation-grade mounts, and three-dimensional items like cap badges sit on individual risers within the frame. Service records, letters and newspaper clippings are incorporated without trimming or adhesive, so the originals stay intact.

The frame, the glazing and parade days

Medal displays need depth, so the pieces sit proud of the backing. Our box frames are built to any depth, in any timber, painted or metal finish. Ribbons are particularly vulnerable to light: silk and grosgrain fade quickly under UV exposure, so UV-protective glazing is fitted as standard on every medal frame, and all backing boards, mounts and spacers are acid-free to prevent tarnish migration. If the medals need to come out for cleaning, polishing or wearing on parade, we build the display with a removable panel or hinged front so access is straightforward. You can see finished examples in our box frame examples collection.

What it costs

A medal display is a box frame, because medals have height: a mounted group needs around 30mm of internal depth before glazing and mounting are allowed for. That sets the floor. Bespoke box frames start at around £350, and a straightforward single-medal or small-group display sits in that territory.

Four things move the figure once the construction is settled: how many medals there are, whether they are court-mounted on a bar or swing-mounted individually, whether original documents or photographs go in alongside them, and the glazing. Glazing is the one worth spending on here rather than economising, because ribbon dye is considerably more light-sensitive than the medals themselves, and a faded ribbon is not recoverable.

Worth noting that a medal display will not run into our £300 minimum order value for new clients, since the box-frame floor already sits above it. Larger court-mounted groups, multi-element displays and hinged cases are quoted individually, in detail and without obligation. When you are ready, our medal framing service page covers the full process, built in our workshop as it has been since 1974, with a 5 year guarantee.