Speaking in Terms of focus, lighting, contrast etc. This is one of the best of photos I have yet seen. But it sorta' strays from what everyone else knows them as.
Update: Sorry, I didn't realize those were soviet symbols(late night) save the "cccp", and the hammer and sickle in the back.
Originally, I thought they may have been Awards from some lost College years in Eastern Europe.
The composition of this picture needed more careful planning. There are only two place that are clearly focused, and there seems to be little relationship of one item to another. Personally, I would love to know the story of these medallions and to see each clearly.