TracA

No One, At very first glance I thought that the Order of the Rising Sun should be before the Sacred Treasure, but after refreshing myself of such thing's on JapanX's Medals of Asia website, I was reminded of the rule that if the Rising Sun and Sacred Treasure were of different ranks, then the highest rank is worn first. Excellent point about the China Incident and Great East Asia War medals. All the best, Tracy

Wonderful write-up! Tracy

Hello No One, Off the cuff: the Great East Asia War did not occur during the Taisho Era. It occurred during the Showa Era. Also, I don't think the order of wear precedence mentioned the Great East Asia War (fourth ribbon from the top left), so I don't know where that would fit on the ribbon bar. Wasn't that medal a unofficial commemorative medal struck well after the war was over? Tracy

Tony, Organizing the postcards in the way you suggest would, in my mind, be a wonderful manner in which to showcase them. It will be interesting to trace the "characters", so-to-speak, as they move through the progression. All the best, Tracy

Thank you Tony! Forget me not...Send a night prayer...a much sought after article. Serious...sad...and humorous. These postcards are wonderful. Tracy

Wonderful additional information! Tracy

No One, Thank you for the additional information. I will now have to take a look at the "Japanese Orders in Tamatebako Miyake (Boxes for Nobles and Foreigners)" post on this forum. All the best, Tracy

Tony, Unfortunately my old eyes don't let me see the marks in the pictures. However, I look forward to when you have more time for taking pictures and then posting them to the Show Your Japanese Medal Hallmarks & Maker's Marks thread. Tracy

My pleasure. I especially like the "longing fills my heart" postcard. Tracy

What a magnificent hallmarked ORS 4th Class. Wow. As you state, it can't be 100% guaranteed but it certainly appears highly likely. Tracy

Tony, Unfortunately I cannot contribute any knowledge, but I can say "great detective work!" I certainly understand your lottery comment and share your excitement. When I purchase a Japanese order or medal, finally get it in hand, and discover a hallmark that did not show up in the seller's photos, then it is definitely a celebratory moment. All the best, Tracy

No One, That is a magnificent OST 3rd Class, and with a reduced width cravat to boot. Very nice. In addition, what a wonderful box of medals, orders, and ribbon bars. The fact that they are attributable to a single recipient makes them even more special. Are there any hallmarks on the Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class? Tracy

Thank you, No One. This marks my fourth OST 3rd Class Cased, and each one is different in some way (either hallmark or reverse type). I have to admit that I am jealous of your OST 3rd Class with 美, mark of the Shobido workshop (Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-on-japanese-orders-who-and-when.25816/). As I stated in my post (I think) about my ORS 2nd Class Cased, I find it a shame and a lost opportunity that dealers/sellers do not appear to look for hallmarks and then "call them out" on their descriptions or photos. All the best, Tracy

Greetings, It has been a while since I posted in this hallmarks thread. I just acquired a beautiful Order of the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class with a case and rosette. Both the badge and the rosette have hallmarks. The badge is marked 幣 (hei) below the rivet at the 6h and the rosette is marked ス (su). Known time coordinates for the mark 幣 is December 11, 1931 to September 4, 1933. see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-on-japanese-order-who-and-when.15113/, where it is speculated that this is a mark of the Japan mint. Note that the stylization of 勣 (kun) on the case lid is associated with the Meiji/Taisho era, but the mark 幣 clearly indicates a Showa era manufacture of the badge. At first I was surprised to see this, but upon further reflection I should not have been. It is not as if there was a "switch" turned off when the Showa era began on December 25,1926 which then led to cases already manufactured but not yet paired with orders to be simply discarded. Tracy Obverse: Reverse, with the hallmark just visible under the 6h rivet: Hallmark 幣 up close (best photo I could get): Case lid. The kanji is gold. The case has a bit of the chocolate color at the top and bottom edges where they meet when closed: Rosette, which is a beautiful blue and yellow: Finally, the rosette hallmark ス:

No One, You are creating an amazing informational database here related to the Vietnamese navy. All the best, Tracy

More great postcards/pictures, Tony. Splendid! Tracy

Nick, Thank you for the clarification/further information. I will add it to my documentation. I am not very good, at all, at recognizing when cases and/or ribbons are temporally mismatched from their orders or decorations. That is something that I really need to work on. All the best, Tracy

Tony, Congratulations on your good luck. I look forward to seeing your grandfather's story unfold. Tracy

Hello Bratovanov, Welcome to GMIC and welcome to the wonderful, sometimes maddening but always fulfilling, world of medal collecting. You should repost your question in the Central & Eastern European States section of the board. It is more likely to be seen there. All the best, Tracy

Thank you, NIck, as always for the fine tuned time coordinates. I will add that to my documentation. All the best, Tracy

What an interesting series. At first it would seem impractical to have a figurine attached to a button or through a button hole, but I guess it works. Gefreiter Otto, this is a wonderful thread that you've started. Tracy

Tony and No One, Thank you both for the kind words. I most certainly have to write things down as it helps organize and refine my thoughts. It also has the bonus of helping me remember stuff that I’ve learned/read and tried to absorb. All the best, Tracy

Great postcards, No One. Fascinating. Tracy

A little addendum to my post above from February 11, regarding my surprise that Article 4 of the Otani Medal of Merit Regulations document stated that when recipients of a merit medal are promoted through the ranks, previously received medals of merit shall be returned. While reading Nick Komiya’s thread “On the Story of the Order of the Golden Kite” on the War Relics Forum I was struck by post #26 in which he discussed Imperial Edict 38, March 21 of 1889. Here it was decreed that recipients could only have one rank of the Order of the Rising Sun or Sacred Treasure or Golden Kite at a time. So, for example, receipt of the OST 3rd Class necessitated returning the OST 4th Class previously received (within two weeks time if the recipient lived in Tokyo and within 30 days if the recipient lived elsewhere). Nick Komiya also mentions that this practice was not uncommon throughout Europe, although he notes one difference: in Japan if the recipient died, then the family could officially keep the order instead of having to return it. He states that this requirement, for the ORS and OST, was in place until October 1, 1973. Putting together the fact that the Otani Medal of Merit Regulations document was implemented in 1963 with what I learned and summarized above, then it should be no surprise to me that recipients of Otani Medals of Merit were required to return the previously awarded Medal of Merit upon receipt of the next highest award. It was simply following standard practice. I still have so much to learn. Tracy

Hi Tony, Great to see you pick-up this thread again. Wonderful pictures. All the best, Tracy