Collection Storage

[Greg Collins]

As I am currently between houses (have been for awhile), and have no "museum" space, I've had to come up with a few ideas for my "collection-on-the-go". Thought I'd share.

First, the medals. I put them in standard medal sleeves with cut-down index cards on which I write pertinent info. I place these in six-pocket archival plastic pages which are then put into a binder called a Print File Work Box- I use the 2 1/2" size:

[Greg Collins]

Note that I also keep track of the collection using materials available on line, highlighting the medals in the collection. I also use this to place the medals in order. Here's the medals in their sleeves:

[Greg Collins]

A view of the page. These pages and the binders are available through graphic arts/photographic suppliers.

[Greg Collins]

For those medals and orders that come to me cased, I keep them in their original cases, which I keep in plastic, locking containers. Oh yeah, these binders have locking sides as seen here:

[Greg Collins]

These binders are available in several colours. I have chosen red for Soviet, black for DDR, blue for Mongolian, green for Bulgarian and purple for Romanian. There is an area on the spine where a card can be inserted. The few other Warsaw Pact awards I have from countries not mentioned to this point are kept at the back of the Mongolian binder, as Mongolia had few medals.

[Greg Collins]

On to the badges... I keep them in 14" x 14" x 3" plastic boxes I picked up at a local craft store. I use a polyester batting, normally used to stuff pillows, and I "split" it to accommodate screw-backs on the bottom layer and pin-backs on the top layer. In display, the top layer can be moved up to the lid of the box to show the entire contents.

[Greg Collins]

Here's my Soviet badges in display (with a couple of Chinese "guests"):

[Greg Collins]

Here's my DDR badges- most are pin backed:

[Greg Collins]

And last, but certainly not least, my Mongolian, Bulgarian, Romanian... with a Czech, a Polish and some Cuban badge box. As a final note, I keep the few, smaller flags I have in a similar way and I keep my documents in sleeves in a binder pretty much as I keep the medals. I can move this collection in minutes, and storage space is really no problem. This would be perfect for, say, one who lectures on ODM's or the Cold War...

[Eric Gaumann]

I can safely say I've *never* seen a better storage setup.
Well done Sir!
Greg, when you get a chance can you post closer images of those two Soviet badges sections? I'd like to pick out a few for further discussion as I'm now branching into common Soviet military badges.
Thanks

[Eric Gaumann]

PS. I use those archival pages for all my Soviet documents. I have 4 binders full and I'll be buying a fifth before too long. Man, what an addiction...

[Greg Collins]

Man, Eric! Tell me about it! My real addiction to documents really didn't begin until the DDR portion of the collection- mostly thanks to Ralph Pickard. Now it has really picked up steam with the Romanian collection. I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful contact there who has been supplying the "dope" (which, of course, you could interpret in a couple of ways).

Will try to get the close-ups of the Soviet badges this coming Monday (working all weekend).

[Ralph P]

Hello Greg - This is a great thread on how you have stored your collection of medals and badges. I have made a copy of this thread and placed the other thread into the Preservation forum.

[Rik]

Do the plastic containers you have stored your cased medals in have any negative effect on the badges inside?
I've read a few articles on storage and in several of them people say that it is not wise to store them in plastic.
Or are the containers made of an 'acid' free kind of plastic?

I do like the way you organized your medals!

KR,
Rik

[Paul R.]

In the world of conservation I've heard it all. Many people on this site and other site try to disprove any conservation action or techniques in preservation. Many people on various sites complain that all conservators call wolf too many times, or say that conservators are getting kick backs from companies that sell conservation made items. (not true at all)

<O</OIn most sites including this one. You are going to hear people tell you that all plastic is fine for storage. Many people on this site, and others sites believe that nothing could happen to anyone’s collection period. The same nay sayers will go to great lengths to call conservators nut cases, and try to disprove any conservation practices period. Many conservationists do not visit many web sites, because of the relentless condemnation of conservation science.


The poly fill is a plus. I can not tell by the plastic cases. From what I can see in the photos. I am not sure as what type of plastic it is. More information is needed on the cases. In the end these are your collected items to store, display, they way you see fit. You should research the web, and past threads, and draw your own conclusions. As a conservator I have seen many poor storage choices that people make that causes severe damage to entire collections. Once that happens it’s too late. Remember it is not only plastic, but humidity as well.