I haven't got around to mounting and displaying mine yet, and keep them in plastic boxes. I intend to mount them onto a suitable cotton cloth, probably stitching them very lightly in a few places. After all, they were meant to be sewn on uniforms in the first place.
I would caution against using any adhesive tapes (even so-called "museum quality") as over time the adhesive can migrate through the cloth and stain it. When I worked in museum conservation, during an adhesive tape project we found that some manufacturers had changed the formula of the adhesive and that it was of an inferior quality. You wouldn't know that, of course, just by buying the tape.
If you display any badges made of silver (I know we're primarily talking about cloth ones here, but I thought it best to mention it anyway), avoid using felt as some of it may have been processed using sulphur compounds. This will cause the silver to tarnish (blacken).
If you store them in plastic boxes, make sure they are made of polyester or polypropylene (usually says somewhere on the box) as anything made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tends to be less stable and breaks down over time, leaching out chlorides into the cloth, which can harm it. I've also noticed that after a couple of years as they plastic breaks down it becomes sticky.
If you display them in frames or shadow boxes on a wall, those with sensitive dyes, such as anything red, will fade. Ideally, the glazing material should be UV-filtering glass or Plexiglas (Perspex), but this is more expensive than regular glass. It is obtainable from reputable framers.
Storage/display materials and containers can be obtained from companies such as Carr Maclean or Conservation Resources (USA and UK).
That's my advice, from someone who spent close to forty years in the museum conservation business. David
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