What is Medal?
[[File:Pisanello, Medaglia di Cecilia Gonzaga, 2011.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Medal distributed by [[House of Gonzaga|Cecilia Gonzaga]]'s family to political allies. [[Renaissance]] Italy, designed by [[Pisanello]] (1447)]] [[File:Medalsofhonor.jpg|thumb|300px|Three versions of United States [[Medal of Honor]]]] A '''medal''' is a small [[metal]] object that is given as an [[award]] for doing something important or to commemorate something. There are medals for [[sports]], [[military]], [[academic]]s, etc. Some medals have [[religion|religious]] meaning. The [[Miraculous Medal]] has been distributed worldwide, for example. The [[Nobel Prize]] is a gold medal given to a few people every year. [[Military decoration]]<nowiki/>s, service awards, and medals are often confused with one another. ''Decoration'' is the term for awards which require acts of heroism or achievement (such as the British [[Victoria Cross]] or American [[Silver Star]]). A service award or campaign medal is awarded for serving in a place and time (such as the Iraq Campaign Medal). In either case, an award or decoration may be presented as a medal. ==Olympics== In the [[Olympic Games]] and many other sports [[competitions]], medals are give to the top three people who took part in the competition. The winner of the competition is given the [[gold]] medal. The [[silver]] medal is given to the person who came second. The third placed person is given the [[bronze]] medal. ==Other websites== *[http://www.apnaonline.ca/ Atlantic Provinces Numismatic Association] *[http://randy.apnaonline.ca/ Official Medals of the Numismatic Associations and Clubs of the Atlantic Provinces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928000446/http://randy.apnaonline.ca/ |date=2007-09-28 }} *[http://www.exonumia.com/exonumia.htm Exonumia defined] *[http://www.jeanpaulleblanc.com Orders, Decorations and Medals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909013446/http://www.jeanpaulleblanc.com/ |date=2008-09-09 }} *[http://nobelprize.org/nobel/medals/ N