Paul L Murphy

It will be interesting to see what this eventually goes for. High end Manchurian prices have started to rise recently since there is increased interest from China and Taiwan in these.

Getting back to the original question ..... When I click on the link provided it gives me a server error so can you check to see if this is the correct link. Personally I have never heard of this seller, however others might have. I presume you are concerned about a 3rd reich item for sale which is why you have posted it in this part of the forum, however posting it in a more general section such as The Lounge might attract more notice since non 3rd Reich collectors will see it. Kevin's earlier comment about asking does the seller provide a money back guarantee is very valid. If they do not then you should not deal with them in my view. One of the very few sellers of German militaria from whom I buy is Detlev Niemann because in the unlikely event that you have a problem with one of his items he will give you a full refund no matter how many years have passed since the original transaction.

Here is another one. This is the version for wear on pullovers and other working dress but it is not popular and seldom worn.

The larger badge is from the Meiji era, the smaller badge is from the Showa era. Not sure when the changeover took place but it was in the 1930s. The 1928 regulations show the large badge but the 1940 regulations show the small one. If you are serious about collecting these badges then you should buy my book "In the Name of a Living God" since it explains them all. You can send me a PM if interested. :cheers:

His Medal Index Card does not show much. He was only entitled to the War Medal and Victory so he went overseas after Jan 1916.

Nice badges. The South African examples are nice, clearly influenced by the style of the British badge. Are these hard to find ?

Very impressive items, and a very impressive collection. What is this collecting filed like in terms of fakes ? Has it been targetted by fakers or is it still relatively "safe" ?

Does the second badge have a number on the reverse ? This is often prefixed with G or H and is the registration number of the design with the relevant military approval board. This can be used to check the unit details, as well as the year when it was instituted.

Falk, If you order it from Amazon they keep all the profit ! Send me an email to paulmurphy30@hotmail.com and I can sell you one directly (which is better for me). Regards, Paul

A well deserved award. It looks like he got the 3rd class, or whatever name they now give it after the recent reforms. Both films are excellent so it is nice to see him get this type of recognition for them. I think he already has the French Order of Arts and Letters so he must have a growing medal cabinet at home !

I think you mean a plain old kanji Dai. Hiragana is the phoenetic script so it would not be Dai as one character but two hiragana for Da I.

You are correct, it is a highly stylised version of Dai. It reads Dainipponkokuji, the seal of the Greater Japanese Nation. Meiji certificates do not have the date to the left of the seal, this only occurs on Taisho and Showa era certs.

Let's open it up to RSM badges from Britian and the Commonwealth. I look forward to seeing what you have.

Most of Togo's are on display in the Mikasa at Yokotsuka. I say "most" since from memory they are missing his Marshal's Badge. No idea where Nogi's are.

All of this looks original to me. These normally turn up in very good condition since they were for full dress use and were not worn after the outbreak of war. Hence they were packed away safely at home. This colour scheme is for an army administrative official with officer rank, in this case a captain. The full dress sash is normally red and white, red and gold for higher ranks, but for officials like this it is greenish-blue and white. It is only worn by officers. The NCO sash is different, it is worn over the shoulder in the same way as British sergeants wear a red sash. The type shown in the photo is worn around the waist only. I have a number of uniforms like this. They are attractive but they do take up space.

Hi Mervyn, Yes indeed, that is the RN version. I was about to post a picture of mine but it is not as nice as your example. :cheers:

Rich has hit the nail on the head regarding the problem in trying to pin down the time frame for the changeover. Unless you get these almost from the family it is difficult to have any faith that the box was original to the group.

As Rich said the black lacquer boxes are private purchase items. The wooden boxes pre date the card tubes but I am not sure of the changeover date. It might also have changed at different times for different grades of the order.

Aside from everything else the order of the ribbons is totally wrong and this combination of awards would be an impossibility. WW1 Victory but no 1914-15 or 1914-19 medal; a soldier who had seen WW1 service, was still around for the Manchurian Incident but did not get the Showa Enthronement despite having both Rising Sun and Sacred Treasure ! With regard to the manufacture of fake holders, I actually once met the person who is making them. He makes them for re-enactors and bases them on real samples he has bought. I was unable to handle one of his copies but from what I have heard they are good. The only saving grace is that apparently he charges pretty much the same price as an original will cost so hopefully they will not flood the market due to the lack of arbitrage opportunities on the price.

It does exist but you seldom see it since very few military received it. I have seen a small number over the years.

A couple more, next is the Royal Air Force WO1 badge in pale blue on a navy background. Following that we have the Royal Engineer, Royal Signals and REME version of the RSM badge with a navy border.

I have always thought that the British rank badge for a WO Class 1 and Regimental Sergeant Major is a very attractive item. While I do not yet have one of the Guard's "Big Badges" their smaller cousins are still very nice and here are a few I recently acquired. First up we have a bullion full dress badge on red backing. Next up we have the service dress uniform version for most infantry units with a scarlet border. This is the version for the Royal Army Medical Corps with a cherry red border. I believe this is a full dress version for the Royal Corps of Transport but am willing to be corrected. And finally a rifle green badge. I am not sure if this is for the rifles or the Royal Irish, the shades are slightly different. Enjoy :cheers:

Send me a PM with your email details and I will email you the details of how to order a copy from me as well as some more background information about what it contains. Regards, Paul

Just to add, it is not correct to describe this as a decoration. It is a commemorative badge. You will find many different variations of these badges, in my book In the Name of a Living God, we show over 150 firefighter badges but we only scratched the tip of the iceberg. Most of them are made for the various volunteer firefighter units rather than the full time regulars. One like this is worth between $10-20 so do not overpay for them, even though they are quite attractive.

The characters on the first line are "kinen" for "commemoration". The "nen" character is quite stylised so it can be difficult to make out at first.