Ynsman

I believe the Bath neck badge is that of the Great Master of the order, distinguished by having a crown above the badge, and now worn by Prince Charles, see (there wrongly captioned Grand Master's badge)

Thank you very much for that. It turns out that the Nihon Kensho-kai is a Nichiren buddhist lay organisation, and was only known by that name between 1978 and 1996, so that gives us a rough date for the badge. It also explains the 'ships wheel', my misidentification of the Wheel of the Law ? Sorry about the images but they were just quick snaps with my mobile, as is the attached one of the reverse of the badge. Thanks again Alan

This came with a recently acquired medal lot, a small (18mm square) lapel pin in a 6.3x8.8 cm kiri wood box. I assume it to be maritime because of the ships wheel in the centre, and it was identified as a 'badge for "Seki Toku Sho" by the vendor. The reverse of the pin has the three large characters on the box above the screw post and the 5 smaller characters below the post and 'SILVER' stamped at the bottom. Does anyone know what organisation/company 'Seki Toku Sho' might be? A quick Google came up with a few companies with a similar name but none with obvious maritime connections that I could see. Thank you for any suggestions Alan

As I suspected, the case maker: thank you very much for the identification. Alan

I recently acquired a Japanese Red Cross Special Member's medal in its lacquered case, which has an inscription on the back which I assume is probably the case maker's mark rather than the medal maker's name (the medal has the katakana イon the suspender). Can anyone tell me what the gilt inscription says please? There is also a small paper label on the front which has a rather fuzzy ink inscription on it. I suspect this may be the name of the original owner. Can anyone take stab at what this (obviously much more difficult) inscription might say? Thanks for any help you can give me. Alan

Thank you for that Alan

I recently noticed the attached maker's mark on a Red Cross medal, on the reverse of the suspension. Does anyone know which company this might represent?

It is a Friendly Society badge, probably Oddfellows. The giveaway is the hand with a heart in it at the top (on the right in the upper photograph: the badge is sideways), and I think the hands are black toned silver rather than having any racial overtones. I suspect the centre has been rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise.

Thank you very much for that confirmation. Alan

Could someone tell me when the 7th class began to be issued with a plain silver reverse? I assume it is an economy measure, possibly WWII and later? Alan