Paul L Murphy

Last one for today is a sailor from the Tokiwa wearing the Rising Sun 8th Class and either the 1914-15 War Medal or the 1914-20 War Medal.

Next we have a rather morose looking corporal wearing a Rising Sun 8th Class and China Incident War Medal.

This one is a Senior Sergeant in the 1st Regiment wearing a Rising Sun 8th Class, Manchurian Incident War Medal, Manchurian National Foundation Merit Medal and Red Cross Member's Medal.

Next we have a Captain, also from the 1st Regiment. He is wearing the Rising Sun 6th class, Showa Enthronement Medal, Manchurian Incident War Medal and Manchurian National Foundation Merit Medal

Here are some more photos of Japanese medals in wear which I recently acquired. This one is of a colonel in the 1st Regiment (can't tell which arm of service unfortunately). He is wearing the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class, Rising Sun 5th or 6th class, Taisho Enthronement Medal, 1914-20 War Medal, Victory Medal, Showa Enthronement Medal and Manchurian Incident War Medal.

Veteran,

Many thanks for confirming my suspicions. They are a beautiful pair of table medals. I have most versions of the Medaille Militaire (apart from the very first type) so I thought these would be a nice addition to that particular part of my collection.

Regards,

Paul

I picked up these two beauties on ebay.fr since the price was too low to let them pass. Both are named to the same recipient and the silver one has a hallmark and date of 1975 on the rim. A lovely pair with some connection to the Medaille Militaire. I am presuming they are table medals from the society of recipients of the Medaille Militaire but if anyone has more specific information Iwould welcome it.

Paul

I plan to visit Moscow in early May so this is now definitely on the agenda.

I believe the leaves signify that it was a wartime award (or a war service related Red Cross award) rather than a peacetime issue.

Regards,

Paul

According to collectors on the french forum, the cut out bars were given to contingents who were in Zaire at the time of the award. The contingents who had already returned to France got this...

That theory does not stack up with the document for the award. The award was declared by Mobuto Sese Seko on 6 June 1978 and the award documents further dated 14 August 1978 at Calvi. I believe that the entire REP left Kolwezi pretty much en bloc once they had effected the rescue and the medals were awarded to them after this.

My understanding is that the cut out version is the earlier type that was actually bestowed, the solid version is a later manufacture for private purchase or replacement. I must dig back through some of my old issues of Kepi Blanc and see what I can find in the photos of this medal being worn.

Wow - that`s an interesting bar.

I`ve often seen my bar, but nether the cut out type presented by Paul.

It looks Home- or Zaire-made, but it is nice!

greetings

eitze

I believe these medals and bars were actually made in Switzerland, the name of the company has slipped my memory at the moment.

The Zaire Bravery Medal was awarded to each member of the 2 REP who took part in Kolwezi, so about 650 in total.

I am not sure what other French missions apart from Kolwezi received the Zaire bar to the Overseas Medal. It does seem to be scarce since you seldom see it in groups for sale.

Congradulations Paul!! Any clues to the number awarded?

The Japanese expedition to Formosa (as it was then called) numbered approximately 3,000 so that is the upper limit on the amount of medals awarded. Their survival rate is unknown but as Ed said, they are pretty close to the Holy Grail of Japanese war medals such is their scarcity.

I dug this out of the bank vault last week and took some photos. This is the 1874 War Medal. One of the rarest in the Japanese War Medal series, prices in Japan now reach close to $5,000 ! On the few occasions that it comes up for sale outside Japan it tends to sell for less than that but they only show up once every few years. Before anyone asks, this one is not for sale.

Enjoy

As promised, here is a photo showing the type of bar which was awarded to the 2 REP. You can also see the Zaire bar on the Medaille d'Outre Mer which was awarded by the French for service in Zaire after 13 May 1978. These are the medals of Sergeant Jerome Parquet. He was a Caporal-Chef at the time of Kolwezi and I was fortunate to be able to purchase this group with the award certificates.

Egad-it's 1922 all over again. partition, independence.....

So long as Northern Irish medals remain in the UK forum section, I'll vote aye too.

We removed our constitutional claim to the North a few years ago so I am not sure about that. They may need to stay with the UK stuff

Joking aside, I would make it a forum section for all medals and miltiaria with a connection to Ireland or to the Irish fighting overseas (since there were a few of those over the years).

Can any of the Moderators opine on this ????

I'd like to add my support for such a forum.

PK

Me too

Larry,

The road never ends !

First, you get all the orders and medals .........

........ then you need to start on the award certificates and the different variations within those.........

..............then you decide you like some of the full dress uniforms cos they are real purrrrty...........

........ then you pick up a few war bonds .... some sake cups...... some badges...........enough unofficial badges you can write a book about them .......

Before you know it there is no more room left in the attic

And finally you decide to kep your eyes open for stuff that looks unusual or has an interesting story behind it.

Thanks guys

@ redcross

I'm sure there are lots of variants. Pauls book shows the 2 different corporate medals - the Corporate Special Member's Medal and the Corporate Merit Medal. I would be happy with just filling in the holes.

The Corporate Special Member's Medal comes in the silver and gold versions, as does the Corporate Merit Medal so that gives you four. You then have the two modern versions which are basically a metal certificate on a wooden background, they are only for Gold Merit Medal and Silver Merit medal. In total you therefore have six corporate types.

You also have the gold special member's medal for individuals as well, it is the same as the normal special medal in aluminium but has the design and rim picked out in gilt.

All of that is before you even start on die variations or different boxes etc !

Hi,

here`s the one with the "Ops Shaba" bar.

This is actually not the version of the bar that was awarded to the REP, it is a later manufacture. The original bars awarded are cut out, not solid.

I will get the group in my collection out of the bank when I am back home and post a picture.

Hi Paul! I have a question. How can that Golden Kite be identified positively as a 5th Class? I understand that the rosette was not introduced to differentiate the two classes untill 1937. Is this an incorrect assumption on my part? The only difference between the two is that the 4th Class is gold plated. I had the good fortune of acquiring one last month from a gentleman in Colorado. To me, the 4th Class is one of the most rare of the series.

Best Regards,

Dick

Hi Richard,

A very good point, I had completely forgotten about that. Back to the drawing board, it could be 4th or 5th !

Cheers,

Paul

This was also awarded to the Zaire forces, it was their equivalent of a Crox de Guerre, so there are many more of them than the pieces given to the 2 REP for Kolwezi. Also the awards made to the Legion had the Ops Shaba bar on the ribbon in addition to the palm citation. I have a documented kolwezo group which I will try to dig out so you can see the differences.

Paul

It is definitely a made up group. The Medaille Militaire is the 3rd Republic version since it has 1870 on the obverse at the 6 o'clock position and not a star. Hence, it is pre 1951 or thereabouts. The Colonial Medal has an Extreme Orient bar which was awarded for service in Indochina until 1955. Adding those with a whole load of 1990's era awards does not make sense. Also, why is there a civilian bravery medal (tricolour ribbon) stuck in there as well ? It is normally seen with police groups.

There is another way to get the Medaille Militaire, you can get it if you are a veteran of an older conflict who manages to stay alive long enough. However if that was the case you would not have the newer decorations and it would not be a 3rd Republic award anyway.

Cheers,

Paul

I got outbid on this one as well. Mind you, I was bottom feeding a bit with the size of my bid.

The type you are looking at is probably the highest grade. Am I correct in saying that the crossed picks and anchor at the top are blackened ? Value wise in the case it is about $35-40 depending on the type of metal and condition. They are scarce but not overly so.

Paul