In World War II, campaign medals were issued to servicemen and women to recognize their participation in a specific operational theatre. They did not necessarily have to have been in combat, only “in theatre” for a specific number of days or weeks. While they were not themselves awarded for bravery or good conduct (the only requirement to be awarded one was to have participated in a given campaign), they are often sold in medal groupings containing “higher” awards.
Many campaign medals have come onto the market in the past decade, as most people of the World War II generation have passed away. Fewer than 66,000 American and 8,000 British veterans of the war are still alive, and medals are often auctioned when their original recipient dies.
America, Britain, and the Soviet Union issued medals for specific campaigns in World War II. Germany rarely did this, except for the prewar occupations of Czechoslovakia and Austria. They preferred to issue awards for specific actions or battles, rather than for general service.
American Campaign Medals
The United States issued campaign medals based on the operational area a soldier or sailor served in. For simplicity, Congress sought to cover all actions fought during the entire war with just three medals – the American Campaign Medal mainly for civil defense within the United States, the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, and the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.
In terms of selling prices, the Pacific and European medals fetch the most, as they were more likely to have been awarded to a participant involved in direct combat. However, one area within the bounds of the American Campaign Medal that did see significant combat was the Aleutian Islands. Invaded by the Japanese in 1942, it took a year for America to muster the resources to take them back. Any American Campaign Medal with provenance linking it to a man who served in the Aleutians will see a significant upswing in value.
High-value items will be medal groups issued to an individual. In June 2025, one such medal group containing the American and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medals and a Navy Good Conduct Medal sold for $1000. An unusual medal group was recently sold in February 2025. Awarded to Commander Raymond W. Siegel, the group contained all three Campaign Medals and sold for a respectable $405.
Original medals minted but never issued can be bought for low prices. For example, in 2025, a pair of unissued medals for America and the Pacific in their original boxes sold for under $100.
British Campaign Medals
The United Kingdom issued a wide array of famous “star” medals. Like America, they were based on the theater of operations—not specific battles or sieges. Each came in the form of a six-pointed star. Specific ones include the Africa Star, Burma Star, Italy Star, and the France and Germany Star. They were not engraved with the recipient’s name, though many private engravings were made. The lack of a name sometimes makes provenance challenging.
One medal that can be picked up cheaply is the 1939-1945 Star—an award made to any serviceman or woman for 180 days of operational service in the army or navy, or sixty days of operational flying in the Royal Air Force. One sold in July 2025 for just $35.
Any medal (or medal group) associated with the SAS (Special Air Service) always sells for inflated amounts. Corporal Frank Rhodes served with the Grenadier Guards, 8 Commando, and finally transferred into Britain’s most elite combat unit. He saw service in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. His incredible campaign medal group sold for $3,550 in 2019. However, since the release of the popular TV show SAS: Rogue Heroes in 2022, interest in the WWII missions of the SAS has increased, meaning items like these have risen in value. Be sure to get proper provenance for SAS items—there are thousands of fakes out there.
Other Nations
The Soviets tended to issue campaign medals for the defense or storming of particular cities. The most famous of all battles fought on the Eastern Front was Stalingrad. Millions of medals for the “Defense of Stalingrad” were issued by the Soviet government. Value comes where provenance is established. In January 2025, a medal issued to a medical officer serving in the city sold for almost $350. Sevastopol was another bloody siege, and a medal without clear provenance sold for $320 in December 2024.
Much less famous than the sieges of Stalingrad and Sevastopol was the 1941 defense of the port city of Odessa. Odessa was held in large part by Soviet Black Sea marines. Romanian forces allied to Nazi Germany participated in the assault on Odessa in huge numbers. In large part because of the relative ineffectiveness of the Romanian army, the city was able to hold out for over two months before it was captured, with the Romanians losing a significant number of men in the process. Because there were so few Soviet defenders, very few Odessa medals were struck, making them a rare find. One came on the market in 2022 and fetched nearly $500.
Japan, like Germany, did not issue many specific campaign medals. Thousands of Japanese soldiers received the 1937–1945 China Incident War Medal for their involvement in the war against China, while a select few received the Manchurian Incident Campaign Medal (relating to a prewar battle). The China Incident War Medal is extremely rare today. One sold some time ago for $1500, but the value will have substantially increased since then.
Final Thoughts
Campaign medals represent an inexpensive way to build a World War II medal collection. Awards made for individual acts of bravery tend to sell for much higher prices. Most bravery medals were engraved with the serviceman’s or woman’s name, and there is always an action associated with them. Service medals, on the other hand, were simply handed out to all personnel who served in a given area, meaning they are plentiful and usually cheap. Every soldier, sailor, or airman in World War II had their own unique story, and obtaining their service medals gives us a tiny glimpse into their history.
Matthew Doherty is a writer, editor, and teacher specializing in all things history-related. His work has been published in the UK Defence Journal, the Small Wars Journal, and The Collector. He holds an MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a BA from the University of Leeds. In his spare time, he also writes science fiction stories.
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