Richard LaTondre

You may want to consider this as a "filler" the price is right at $2.95

Looking at the small red tag inside the box . . . . does this say 2nd Class, 2nd Grade? Thanks. Richard

Alex - Thanks for the picture of the back. That was a very good looking set. I believe that the rise in prices of pre-communist medals may have been acerbated by the Cultural Revolution when the Red Guard zealots destroyed much of China's historical treasures. If this was the case, it then appears that there may be more of these treasures outside of the Chinese mainland than can be found in country. That being the case, who can or cannot say that US 5,000 is a good or a bad price. At this point the primary factor in the pricing of these medals is availability. Thanks again for sharing your information and bringing it to this forum. It is the only way that we may be able to answer the questions that arise. Ruchard

I think you were lucky Alex. I doubt that this would be the average price for this order. Do you happen to have any pix of the back? Richard

Thank you Pang! I am familiar with the Order of the Brilliant Jade 采玉勳章 which replaced the Order of the Golden Grain on 2 December 1933. This award is normally given to heads of State. Richard

I am not at all familiar with this Order. Could you please give us a little more information such as; What period was it established? By who's authority? Who was it given to? How many classes within this order? Thank You very much Richard

Very interesting. If those cases with the Mums are in fact wood, we may be looking at an older issue that has recently surfaced. Now if we could only see the reverse of the medal and if it has a hallmark to the left of the stele . . . . . . . . Thanks, Dick

Thanks! Do you recall if the cases with the Mum were plastic or wood? This would be fairly important.

Here is an unusual set on eBay

As I keep saying: You need to examine the back. I agree with JCWater except the title of the medal in Chinese refers to the "rank" as well as "merit" Richard

The Order of Merit (order of the Merit and Rank) was an award that was given to a recipient in accodance with his rank or status within the Manchu Imperial Court. It was a short-lived order and little is known concerning the decoration itself. It was founded in 1912 by President Yuan Shikai and this 'insignia' was worn and ranked above all others in precedence. I am planning the publication of a new book on Chinese Medals within the next several months and it will be described in greater detail with more photographs of this rare medal. As promised, I am sending a photo of one of the medals contained in the Harry A. Mohler Collection, at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

I believe that it is the Republic Order of Merit, Fourth Class, Second or Third Order. The rays represent the colors of th State of Manchukuo. The Four characters on the case read: (in my humble opinion) "Order of Merit 4th Class". I have more pictures in my file whick I need to locate. Richard

That medal does not appear to be the same as any of the orders of the most precious brilliant golden grain awards that I have ever seen. Could you please tell us where it originated?

Photographs of these awards can be found at the Orders and Medals Society of America Website at: http://www.omsa.org/modules/Jig/index.php Dick LaTondre

Thats it exactly! Now we know there's more than one!

Thanks for the great tip!

Thank you for all of the information and tips about proceeding in this area. The only problem is that the English records indicate that he was adopted by the Ensor family while he was a young lad and his name may have been Moore. I want to thank all of you for being so gracious in sharing your knowlege of peerage. I know nothing about the subject which must be painfully obvious to some of you. I am proud to be a member of such a distinguished group of researchers. Thanks again. Semper Fi to all, Dick

Hi Ralph, I believed that you nailed it! Do you think he could have gotten this sash in Minnesota? He was a lumberjack. Thanks for your expertise. Dick

My Great Grandfather's name was Alfred (Moore) Ensor and I believe that he was born in Warwickshire and his ancestors came from Rdensor ehich perhaps was the origin of the name Ensor. There is nothing in the stags mouth, and I appologize for the poor quality of the image. I will try to make a better one. Thanks for your help. Dick

........I wish that I did. I was a little hesitant about posting this item as it probably is not an item of Military Interest, but things appeared to be a little slow, and who knows . . . . he may have been a Colonel in the British Army! Thanks for your help, Dick LaTondre

I would appreciate any help on the identification of the seal attached to a sash belonging to my Great Grandfather. He was Alfred (Moore) Ensor born in Rugby England about 1847 according to the 1851 England Census. He came to America around 1880. Thank you for your time. Richard LaTondre

Garth: Are you sure that they are marked DRAGE PARIS as opposed to DRAGO PARIS? Dick

Alex, Your medal looks genuine to me as well. Attached is another 6cl of mine that has the same condition. The front has quite a bit of patina or 'toning'. The back is bright silver (the same as yours). I have several more 6cl in my collection that look the same. To remove the patina, which I feel adds interest as well as beauty to the medal, I use a mild solution of Tarn-X, a commercial jewelers product that is used on silver and fine gold. As Paul said, protect the ribbon. Dick

Believe it or not this is a seventh class with excessive patina.