hc8604

I guess who ever got these thought they were real enough to be nicely displayed.

It is a good laugh to those sellers who sell them beyond their value.. and sad for those who buy them over $3. I still see people bid on these. I think mostly Chinese bidders to increase their own feedback ratings.

Yours are official medals, just that most were never issued out. There isn't much of a price difference between unissued and issued, mostly depends if it has a certificate, box/envelope..

TW50 is a police award (Pigeon and wreath is the insignia for the National Police), probably for service length. 1st class..

Top of box. These were the early box made from cardboard and covered with cloth.

Reverse:

Here is an Order of Loyalty and Diligence. Although one was posted earlier, this one is an early version with glass instead of paint enamel. This one is made out of silver, later types were aluminum? or cheaper metal and currently, I believe is now silver again. Maybe late 40s to early 50s. This one had a hook and catch and were later removed and replaced with a slot broach.

Anytime Hugh. Seems that activity has went down in both the SE and E Asia forum and they were merged

I can post more stuff...

khorgor, yours is a Civil Service medal. Given to government workers for 10, 20, 30 years of service. Yours is 3rd class.

The site you provided, lists this for about $65-70. Just to let you know, there are a lot of government workers who get these awards, this should reflect on the price of these.

My Uncle gave me his 3rd class with his certificate. The medal was awarded in the late 80s with a serial number range of 48000. Yours really high, probably late 90s? I would assume these were given out in order of sequence :whistle:

Actually, both Blue Sky and White Sun orders are in the National Armed Forces Museum in Taipei. The breast badge and the sash are very damaged... there are even pieces of blue enamel around the yellow silk cloth. Some larger blue fragments are just placed on top of the areas where it suppose to be blue.

I went by the memorial hall today. There were no guards around, so I got all the time I want to take the pictures (there were volunteers actually). There were a lot of Japanese and ,I think, Mainland tourists.

The Blue Sky and White Sun medals were moved to the Presidential building. I asked about them lol

Order of the Precious Tripod 4th class...

I have the same copy, but mine came with the often seen yellow with green stripes ribbon.

Steer clear of the "Taiwan" item in your post 7. It's one of a vast array of phony Mainland Chinese fantasy pieces flooding the market.

It is not a fantasy piece... its actually a copy of a real medal. But it is a fake.

Richard,

This item as well as our Order of the Red Banner, 5th Award and our United Glory were purchased when a gentleman (think of Bernie Madoff on a slightly smaller scale) had his possesions (including his entire medal and award collection) confiscated and sold.

Thank you for your comments and input as we attempt to learn more about these aquisitions. It is truly appreciated.

Dave

Great find. I think it is real as it doesn't look like the typical recent fakes on ebay. I think Richard above got my post above confused and thought it was yours...

So it did not come with any box? I believe it is the only way to tell if it 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class, as all three looks similar. I have a sash version and there was no ribbon, so I have no clue to whether it is 1st-3rd classes.

Hsin

Well, there are many designs of the grain plant.. but the only thing that is different is the border. I have seen aqua blue color. I think I have only seen one green version, but yours is not clear enamel though.

The reverse is highly polished which seems to be good so far. The middle layer is gilded which looks good too. Seems the markings on the reverse is lacking, although there could be variations.

at least the clip is not the paperclip type clip.

The Golden Grain is a beautiful award. I recently got one, just the medal and is missing the suspension ring. The breast badge is the only one that is fake out there so far.

I agree with Richard that the colors are backwards, but there maybe a few exceptions as the medals were made by different jewelers so it can be hard to get the design standardlized (remember this is China ).

The fake one, in my opinion, is the only one out of all the fake medal design that close resembles the actual medal. There are still details that are lacking, but still close. I don't know the demensions of the fake though.

Modern fake.

From eBay? If so, I think I may know which auction...

*-Oops, didn't see you already mentioned it.-*

I know which seller. He has several medals for sale. Only two of them are real. A 3rd class Cloud and Banner and a Brilliant Star. The Brilliant Star is not WWII, only a Taiwan version and not worth that much. The Cloud and Banner is not worth that much because it is heavily damaged. The rest are the fakes coming out of China. I messaged him about the 7th class Cloud and Banner and told him it was listed wrong and a fake, he just changed the description but did not mention it was still a fake.

Very nice! Something you just don't see everyday. Has both Chinese Empire and Republic medals.

I believe the auction was cancelled.

Looks in great condition! The gold really stands out.

TAIWAN ? Air Force Vermilion Bow ( Peterson - Red Bow Merit Medal ? Dan Kun ? Magnus 43), Mint

Taipei (Shi Men Ding), 6/00, ? Code:TW 41

There is an interesting story to this medal.

When this medal was first introduced, it had a red circle. The red circle represented the Japanese Forces. Hence, the arrow was pointed at the Japanese because they were the enemy.

Then why did they change it to a red star? It was changed because of the Chinese communists fight on the mainland. It still stayed as a red star to this day.

Hello Hugh

Wath a nice collection!

I maybe have something about TW 48, cause I bought the same medal this summer in taipei. Mine seems finer manufactured and it came with some kind of description, maybe someone with better chinese skills can make out the name and purpose for it? so here are the pictures…

I believe this medal is a political party award and not military related. I think for how many years you served/membership in the Kuomintang. Its modern made, looks recent. If I find any more info, I will let you know.

Great grouping! Any idea where the bidder is from? The Yen is not cheap these days.

The year looks correct at 1923.

I saw that auction. That seller has a lot of really nice medals he sold on ebay over time. If I remember correctly, this is the first time I have seen him put his auctions with BIN and make an offer. Usually his past auctions were just auctions.

Looks like one offer has been made and declined.

It is for the Northwest part (Manchuria). But rarely I see Kuomintang written on any badges. Real ones don't have KMT on the reverse.

Not sure which dialect you are using, Cantonese? In pinyin it is Huán wǒ héshān.

Like I posted in WAF, it is just reproduction. I have seen a few of these on ebay too.

When did they shift to the "gear-wheel" flag, Richard? Your post suggests this medal dates from 1918.

Best,

Hugh

Never heard of that term before. Usually I hear "star" more often (although still incorrect). The flag was in existance before 1928, but after the reunification of China, it was made the official national flag.

The previous flag, with the five colored bars, represented each race in China. I can't remember all of them, but it is on wikipedia. It was used after 1911. The Manchuko government also used this flag but as a canton with a yellow field. I am not sure if they used the full flag.

Good find though Veteran, too bad the part is missing, although looks in good condition.