DICK JOHNSON ON THE PURPLE HEART LEGISLATION

CONGRESS MISGUIDED ABOUT MEDAL COLLECTING – AGAIN!

Previously the sale of military medals of honor were prohibited. It was permitted to trade for these to pass from one person to another, the law stipulated they could not be sold. It was circumvented, however, so much that ultimately the “exchange” became a farce. A U.S. postage stamp and cash was traded for such embargoed medals.

When I was a medal dealer, collectors would visit my office with a stash of military medals to trade for desired specimens in case I demanded to make a compliant trade. I rejected such trades, accepting cash only for full payment. If caught I would have enjoyed going to court to testify the futility of such law. There is more than a century’s heritage of military medals passing on to collectors and historians by purchase.

Recently Congress is at it again but for only one medal. In September 2016 Congressman Paul Cook (R-California) introduced legislation (HR 6234) that would make it a crime to buy, sell, or trade any Purple Heart awarded to a member of the armed forces. We assume his intent was to preserve the dignity of the award and justify the honor any recipient who received such a medal.

His bill called for only those which had been awarded (and not those medals available otherwise). In effect, his bill is directed at collectors, but accomplishes the opposite outcome. It is collectors who venerate such military honors and their medallic artifacts more so than anyone else. They provide a custodial service in preserving these as historical objects.

The Bill has raised the ire of the medal-collecting fraternity. Cook’s legislation “is an affront to the liberty of veterans to decide how to dispose of their medals or of the collectors who desire to purchase and preserve the medals” stated John Adams-Graf in the Military Trader. He drafted a letter to the House Judiciary Committee members which stated in part:

“A veteran’s medals are given to him by our government in recognition of his service. If he chooses to sell or trade or otherwise dispose of these medals, that should be his right to do so --- as he would be able to do with any personal property. I do not believe Rep. Cook considered that property right in his Bill because, if his bill is enacted, it would infringe upon these rights of veterans or their heirs.”

Both a veteran and his heirs have three choices with a serviceman’s medals. They can be kept in the family, passing on to the next generation, they can be sold, or they can be donated to a museum. As a medal dealer I learned that first generation heirs keep any parent’s medals. Not so with grandparents, generally these are sold.

For museums I recommend the medals be framed along with a picture of the serviceman. At any appropriate time the framed medals can be given to a national or local museum. Such museums should have a Wall Of Honor or a Wall of Heroes. This would be quite impressive.

Fortunately there is a firm composed of veterans themselves, Medals of America, which can mount a veteran’s medals in a shadow box. These are arranged in an artistic way placing high ranking medals above campaign medals as required by decree. They can even replace lost medals, also correct tattered ribbons.

Medal collectors are fearful that should the Cook legislation be passed it would be the ‘camel’s nose under the tent.’ Then Congress might prohibit other classes of medals be so prohibited.

John Adams-Gral’s letter to congressmen is endorsed by Fred L. Borch, president of Orders and Medals Society of America. He sent an appeal this week to the organization’s members to also write to Congress objecting passage of this Bill.

To read the complete article, see:
Military Order of the Purple Heart Salutes Introduction of HR 6234 by Rep. Paul Cook (www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161001005011/en/Military-Order-Purple-Heart-Salutes-Introduction-HR)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n48a26.html (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n48a26.html)

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