medal vs medallion

medal and medallion both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
medal	Yes	No	No	No
medallion	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, medal and medallion are synonyms defined as:

medal and medallion: an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event

Other synonyms of medal include decoration, laurel wreath, palm, ribbon.

medal (noun)	medallion (noun)
an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event	an award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event
	an emblem indicating that a taxicab is registered
	a circular helping of food (especially a boneless cut of meat)
	a circular helping of food (especially a boneless cut of meat) "medallions of veal"
	any of various large ancient Greek coins