Fakes?

[Eryk]

Hello. Relatively new to collecting, and new to the forums.

My question is regarding the serial number ranges in the McDaniel and Schmitt Comprehensive Guide. I've two medals, a Medal for Combat Service and a Medal for Bravery that are each either Type 1 version 3 or Type 2 version 1 – each are on a 5 sided suspension and the Guide says that many T1s were put on them in 1943. They’re on a bar with four other medals. They are in a group, with a good amount of documentation.

Physically each fits perfectly with the Guide’s description of what each should be - rings, enamel, type of serial numbers, size of serial numbers - with one exception: the serial numbers are out of the ranges in the Guide. Each has a serial number below the “lowest observed” for a Type 2 and higher than the “highest observed” for a Type 1.

There is a certain sense in this. They are the oldest two awards in the order book, all the other awards are newer. They are more worn than the other medals as well, again indicating greater age. It is a WWII group, and that's when the changes occurred.

But they violate the “observed” numbers in the Guide. Is this proof that they’re fake? Or is it not uncommon to find things outside those ranges?