TracA

The second Patriotic Women’s Association badge that I recently purchased is another Special Supporter Member Badge. This example is what I call a “true” 4th variation, so defined because the pin on the reverse is like the pin on the Medals of Asia page referenced in my post from yesterday, May 2nd. This is in contrast to the example about which I posted on August 21st of 2023, which I labeled a possible “hybrid” given the fact that the pin construction was different. Out of the five variations the only one not currently in my collection is the 2nd variation. Tracy Special Supporter Member Badge 4th variation obverse: Special Supporter Member Badge 4th variation reverse:

No One, Thank you. Much appreciated. Tracy

I haven’t posted in this thread for about six months. I was finally able to procure three more Patriotic Women’s Association badges. On his website Medals of Asia, JapanX has documented five variations of the Special Supporter Member Badge. See https://asiamedals.info/threads/special-supporter-member-badge-of-womens-patriotic-association.25981/. I have finally filled a hole in my collection with the badge below, which I am quite sure is an example of the 3rd variation. The key is the stem and leaf design at the bottom of the obverse and the type of pin on the reverse. Thanks for looking. Tracy Special Supporter Member Badge 3rd variation obverse: Special Supporter Member Badge 3rd variation reverse:

My most recent acquisition, an Order of the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class with N hallmark, came with a rosette, and that rosette also has a hallmark: ス (su). I looked at it and looked at it, but something just did not look right. Then, it hit me: unlike the other seven rosettes that I have (for Treasures, Kites, and Suns) with the ス hallmark, this rosette has the ス in a different orientation from that of my seven other rosettes. Seven of my rosettes have what I call an inward facing ス, where the top of the character faces inward toward the rosette’s cylinder, like this: The rosette that came with my N hallmarked 3rd Class Order of the Sacred Treasure, however, has an outward facing ス, where the top of the character faces outward from the rosette’s cylinder, like this: At Medals of Asia this hallmark is associated only with Red Cross medals as well as rosettes for such medals and rosettes for other orders/medals. The two pictures of Red Cross rosettes are of outward facing ス but the four pictures of rosettes for other orders/medals all have inward facing ス. See Medals of Asia: https://asiamedals.info/threads/marks-of-the-japanese-red-cross-society-medals.15270/. If my small sample size of eight and the four pictures at Medals of Asia are any indication, then clearly outward facing ス are much less common on non-Red Cross rosettes than inward facing. Beyond that I cannot posit any other conclusions. It would be interesting to know the stamping process for rosettes with this hallmark. Heck, it would be really interesting to know the meaning/manufacturer behind this hallmark. All the best, Tracy

No One and Tony, Thank you! Tracy

I am lucky enough to have added another order with a hallmark to my collection. This is another Order of the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class, which makes the sixth 3rd Class in my collection: five for males and one for females. Out of the six orders, five of them have hallmarks. The latest addition is a four rivet reverse and below the rivet at the 6h is the hallmark N. This is the mark of the Japan Medal Manufacturing Corporation. Known dates of manufacture are, as of today, January 1929 to February 18, 1930. Of course, see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-n-on-japanese-orders-and-medals-who-and-when.14995/ for a discussion of the N hallmark in general and at https://asiamedals.info/threads/orders-of-the-sacred-treasure-with-mark-n.14999/ for a gallery of Sacred Treasures with the N mark. It is in beautiful condition, with only a single red glass cabochon “jewel” exhibiting damage: the one at 12h. I note that the button rosette also has a mark on its underside: ス (su). The case lid has gold kanji and the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). As a side note, the silver latch is so tarnished that it is basically black in color. I was thrilled to add this wonderful example to my collection. Enjoy. Tracy Obverse with ribbon and rosette: Reverse, with the N just visible under the rivet at 6h: The N hallmark up close: The case lid:

Nice haul, Tony. Now you have even more research projects, no? 😀 Tracy

No One, Very nice award. Indeed, if a rosette that I have has a hallmark on it, then it's ス. All the best, Tracy

…and another Order of the Sacred Treasure with a hallmark. This is a 5th Class with 幣 (hei) on the reverse just below the 6h rivet. About the 幣 hallmark see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-on-japanese-order-who-and-when.15113/. No rosette with this one. The lid has gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). This is what, I believe, JapanX would refer to as “a salty specimen”. The photos below actually make it appear lighter than it really is. The ribbon is so heavily soiled that it looks brown. The silver is quite tarnished and has a dull gray look. Some dirt won’t easily come off of the white enameled rays and almost each of the red glass cabochon “jewels” is chipped/pitted and/or scratched. Nonetheless, I’m delighted to have this in my collection. Enjoy. Tracy Obverse: Reverse: The 幣 (hei) hallmark up close: …and finally, the case lid:

I just received this lovely Order of the Sacred Treasure 6th Class, cased. On the reverse below the 6h rivet is the M mark of the Japan Mint, Osaka. The M mark is a nice, strong strike. In just the right light at just the right angle the ribbon looks to be a very, very pale blue. Otherwise, it looks to be a dirty/off white. Gold kanji grace the lid with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). Unfortunately this one did not come with a rosette. Oh well, you “can’t win ‘em all” as they say. Tracy Obverse: Reverse: M mark up close: Finally, the case lid:

SovPha, Amazing documents, photographs, and write-up. Thank you for sharing this wonderful information. All the best, Tracy

No One, Fascinating. Thanks for sharing. I will have to visit the website. All the best, Tracy

No One, Indeed, it looks like the mark on the above medal was not completely stamped. An interesting item to have in your collection. Tracy

No One, That is a splendid collection. Simply wonderful. The fact that you have a marked medal for females makes it even better! I must admit that I am jealous. I currently have the Showa Enthronement medal with M mark and its wrapper as well as the N mark as its wrapper. I am on the hunt for an S (Shōbidō) marked medal and its wrapper as well as a Y (Yamazaki) marked medal and its wrapper. There are also variations with the S marked on the ball instead of the ring and variations with the Y as convex instead of concave (which from the picture is what your medal’s mark looks to be). For all of the information see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/makers-marks-of-japanese-orders-and-medals.14996/. All the best, Tracy

No One, Ahh, that would make sense. I hope that he weighs in. Tracy

Fascinating medal. I wish that the Wiki page had an explanation of the obverse design, especially the meaning of the fist. Tracy

Hello No One, Beautiful wear on the wings. Yes, definitely a Showa Kite. Besides the Kite shape, the number of apertures and the distance of the fourth (from below) aperture of the harness to the first tipping over of a harness are the tell tale clues. JapanX did a wonderful job explaining and showing this is his thread here: https://gmic.co.uk/topic/51228-classification-of-golden-kites-in-6th-and-7th-class/. All the best, Tracy

No One, Nice Kite and rosette. In the photo it appears as if the gilding on the Kite's wings has worn off, which to me gives it a nice appearance. All the best, Tracy

…and my second post for the day in this thread. This one is an Order of the Sacred Treasure 8th Class with the M mint mark of the Japan Mint. The button rosette also has a mark on its underside: ス (su). The case lid has gold kanji and the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). That’s all for today. Tracy Obverse: Reverse, with the M visible: M close-up. Note that it appears to be not quite a full strike, although pretty darn close: Case lid:

I have finally obtained a Golden Kite with a mint mark. Below is a Golden Kite 7th Class with a “Showa bird” and the M mint mark on the reverse at 6h. The button rosette also has a mark on its underside: ス (su). I note that the lacquered case is of the six kanji variety instead of the seven kanji variety, so it is an “earlier” case. The medal is in great condition with a beautiful patina around the edges. Of course my somewhat crappy cell phone pictures won’t do it true justice. Enjoy. Tracy Obverse: Reverse, with the M mint mark visible at the 6h: Case lid:

No One, Thank you for the important and useful information. Too bad that the seller was so snotty. Tracy

No One, Since the original posts were from 11 years ago I checked JapanX's Medals of Asia website at https://gmic.co.uk/topic/57578-manchuran-incident-medal-wrapper/#comment-730981 to see if he had any updates on these types of wrappers. Alas, he does not. All the best, Tracy

No One, I hadn't noticed that about the parentheses. Excellent point, and it adds to the mystery. If I recall Peterson and Catalano, the 'National Border Incident War Medal' for Nomenhan is technically a Manchukou commemorative medal, but because the quality is so high and the design so similar, it is believed that they were made in Japan. Perhaps that's why the "made by the mint" on your wrapper is surrounded by parentheses and the wrapper for Dieter3's is not. Perhaps the parentheses were used to signify that although the award was made by the Japan mint, it was done so for a "foreign" country, so-to-speak. All the best, Tracy

No One, Interesting. The only ones that I've seen and have are also medal specific, instead of a generic "military service medal", or something like that. Tracy

No One, A very nice collection of ribbons. Tracy