Puting Together The missing ......

[Nexorcist]

I have been reading a lot lately regarding some people adding orders to groups, creating groups from scratch and overwhelming amount of flat out fake groups on internet.
So my question for all of you is: is it OK to add MEDALS to complete a group thats missing them, i obviously mean basic medals like campaign or jubilee ?
Part of me (the purist part ) says to never alter the original group, so if ANY award is added that will ruin the whole idea of ORIGINAL, but my other part thinks that nothing wrong with completing the group with unnumbered medals(not to increase value, but to complete the group).

Whats your guys take on this ?

[Tretov]

One of the groups I have around here has

Combat Service
20,30,40 years victory
30,50,60,70 years armed forces
Veteran of Labor

It is a classic group, but it lacks the Victory over Germany. So, when selling this group, the obvious and easiest thing is just to state that the VoG medal was not with the group, nor is the document, but that I am willing to add it. Most likely this is the award missing, although a research may tell that the missing is a VoJ (or both). But for the simple way out, add it and tell the way it is.

[EricFG]

....but my other part thinks that nothing wrong with completing the group with unnumbered medals(not to increase value, but to complete the group).

Whats your guys take on this ?

I vote YES, it's OK. But in my case it would be for a bar that I would own and plan to keep and display. Even then I'd feel a little funny knowing it had been messed with. And, if I *were* to sell it I'd have to disclose up front what was done.
But as a seriouc collector I'd feel good about doing the repair correctly. And I'm sure I'd check in here for pointers before I did the deed.

[Nexorcist]

I do agree regarding sale part, but my main concern was to display, rather than sell.

[Esteban_cool]

If it´s for display, I´d also do the same.
This may not be good, but before, since display cases were out of my reach, I displayed (and I still do) some of my awards on uniforms. In those cases, I just added the awards (I had my M55 full of jubilee awards :S) and recently I display those awards that would match the context. Since I will not sell those uniforms -not yet- there is no problem.