YA about collecting medals

I read this book for school in the 7th grade, so I'm pretty sure it was from the 90's.

The plot of the book was that a boy (or maybe group of kids) had go in search of medals that when combined gave some sort of power.
I always remember that the cover of the book was black and had on it the symbol when all the pieces were put together. I think it was 4 medals because the symbol was a circle.

There might have been some sort of closet involved, but that detail I might be confusing with The Lion, The Which and The Wardrobe.

Possibly The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper?

No, after reading the descriptions of the books, I don't think that's it, but I'm gonna keep it in my mind because I'm not sure.
Thanks though.

#3 Note that there's only one book in the sequence that actually fits your description, RockStarNinja: the second. It's also called The Dark Is Rising and is about a young boy, Will Stanton, who has to collect four pieces (of varying materials) and they do all make a circle. It's the first book that popped into my mind when reading your description (too), so I do suggest that you check it out just in case.

ETA: Aha! I knew an edition of that book had a darkish cover with just the circle symbol on it! Here's a picture so you can see if it rings any bells.

Actually, the more I thought about it I think that might be it. I'm gonna see if there's a copy at my bookstore when I go today so I can take a closer look.

Let us know how it goes! (I hope that's it, though. ^-^)

The Dark is Rising was also the first book I thought of, although I'm sure there have probably been lots of other ones written about quests for amulets. Whether or not it's the one you're looking for, it is a good book to read before Christmas.

Six symbols, each of which is a circle (with a cross in the middle). Will threads them on his belt, for a while. Wood, Bronze, Iron, Water, Fire, Stone.

I don't know if it's the right story, but it's a good one, anyway.

*facepalms* D'oh! Thanks for the correction!

And yes it's a good story regardless of whether it's the one the OP is looking for. ^-^

After doing some more looking into it, this is exactly the book I was looking for, it just took me a while to remember it. I couldn't find a copy at my local used bookstore, but the girl said she'd put it on a list to order it for me, so that's exciting.
Thanks everyone for your help!

Hooray! By the way - since you weren't certain whether it was one person or a group, you may be remembering other books from the series. Over Sea, Under Stone, the first one in the series, has three siblings; The Gray King has Will (from The Dark is Rising) plus another boy; Greenwitch has the siblings plus Will, and all five children take part in the last book, Silver on the Tree.

They are excellent, so even if it's not the right book, you will probably enjoy them!