These are descriptions to the categories I publicized on 15-Nov-10. 4. Medals 4a. Celebratory Medals 4b. Community Medals 4c. Award Medals 4d. Souvenir Medals 4e. Promotional Medals 4f. Tracking Medals 4g. Enjoyment Medals 4h. Imitator Medals Celebratory Medals Celebratory medals honor a living person, memorialize a deceased person, or memorialize any particular actual event. Often incorrectly deemed as “commemorative medals”, celebratory medals have only one purpose of their existence and that is to honor or memorialize. Celebratory medals, as the name suggests, celebrates the life and achievements of a person, or celebrates a wonderful event in the past. Though some of these events can be negative too, they actually celebrate the public reaction to them to make the outlook positive again. Celebratory medals have been in use in early historical times and continue to the present day. Community Medals Community medals are medals that are provided to those who are part of any particular community, and they are meant to manifest that the bearers of these medals are as such. Such communities, where these medals have been used, have been well defined groups, such as churches and synagogues or private clubs. Other communities are more loose and open, such as those who are fans of any particular fictional story, and these community medals often bear a character from the fiction story (usually along with a description of the character) or an event from the fictional story. Community medals have been in use in historical times up to the present day. Award Medals When the average person thinks of a medal, he/she is likely to think of an award medal. Award medals are medals given to anyone as an award (of course) who has either won any kind of game or contest (involving more than one person) or has been dignified for any kind of outstanding achievement. Award medals are always blatant in appearance, so that it further enhances the great feeling the recipient is experiencing. Depending on the criteria to achieve the award medal, some have been rather easy to achieve, while some have been extremely difficult as such. Award medals have been issued historically; and they most certainly continue to be issued in the present times. Souvenir Medals As the name suggests, souvenir medals are medals offered as souvenirs from any particular place or event in the world to anyone visiting or attending. Souvenir medals always feature a place; and are often (if not always) picturesque. Any place on a souvenir medal can vary widely from being a zoo or a museum or a national landmark to visit to visit to being an entire state or province. Souvenir medals can also be given to those who attended a very specific event, like an inauguration ground or a worldwide fairground or a formal banquet. Promotional Medals Promotional medals always carry any kind of message to anyone and everyone who sees it. Appearing in historical times up to the present day, promotional medals “promote” their message for others to follow. Promotional medals can be used for political purposes, especially in times of democratic elections. They can advertise for a company either by promoting the company name or a company product. They can advertise an upcoming event as well. Also, promotional medals can carry a certain blatant message such as a religious prayer, a message to save an endangered animal or a message to preserve a historic site, to name a few examples. Tracking Medals Tracking medals are entirely used for sport. The challenge is to enter a tracking medal’s serial number online, to allow it to be detectable by satellites, and then place the satellite-detectable tracking medal in a waterproof container, and bury it on any land in the world, while another person uses a global positioning system (GPS) to track the medal and find it. The sport of tracking medals is very recent in times and occurs on all seven continents, even Antarctica. Some tracking medals are uncolored, while nearly all others are either fully or partially colored. They are often deemed as "geocoins". Enjoyment Medals Enjoyment medals, as the name suggests, are simply medals with devices that can create any kind of enjoyment to an observer, whether it would be something humorous or something pleasurable. Enjoyment medals can be of any topic as well, so long as it produces enjoyment. Some of these enjoyment medals can produce fun for children, while others surely can produce fun for adults only. Enjoyment medals became apparent in recent times, often from various places of enjoyment in the form of souvenirs or even in the form of tokens. Imitator Medals Imitator medals are medals that are always either fully identical to an actual non-replica coin or nearly identical (similar) to an actual non-replica coin to the point that one could easily recognize that the medal imitates the appearance of a coin. Despite appearances having to be the most important factor for imitator medals, sizes can vary much more from the imitator medals to the actual coins that they imitate. Imitator medals are often bullion medals of which need an appearance, so they are resorted to resembling coins, when a unique design cannot be conjured or preferred not to be conjured.
