JapanX

Personally I think it will be much more realistically to conclude that this piece was some kind “interim medal” and was issued somewhere between 1931 and 1938. It obviously has features of early Chinese red cross medal (its obverse), but here and there you can detect small differences in design. Here comes a comparison. Obverse comparison (medal with Manchu flag vs. full member medal of Chinese Red Cross)

Interesting dating … But why Paul decided that this medal was issued after 1943? He gave his explanation in one of the footnotes. (*) “Manchukuo stamps can be used to cross reference the dates here. It is clear that the Red Cross Society was founded in October, 1938. A stamp issued for that purpose shows that date. The difference between the Chinese characters used in the two versions is subtle. In the 1938 medals, “Che Shi Zi She”, a Japanese term for the Red Cross Society, is used. In the undated, thinner, medal, “Hung Shi Zi Hui”, a Chinese term for the Society, is used. Since a stamp commemorating the 5th Anniversary of the Society, dated October, 1943, still used the Japanese term, one can conclude that the thinner medal was issued after that date”.

What is this medal?! When it was issued? Here comes the opinion of Paul L. T. Kua from his article “Manchukuo's Award System & Some of its Lesser Known Awards” published in 1998 by OMSA journal. (8) Red Cross Membership Medal, Type II (figures M, N) —Peterson described a full-range of Red Cross awards all dated October 1, Kang Teh Year 5 (1938). These are made of silver or gold-plated silver, with designs very similar to their Japanese counterparts. Figures M and N show the obverse and reverse of the Special Membership Medal in gold-plated silver (right), the Regular Membership Medal in silver (center), and a rather unusual Regular Membership Medal in silver (left.) The last one, which does not appear in Peterson’s book, is of interest here. It measures 31mm (instead of 30mm like the other two), and is made of silver perhaps one third the thickness of the more common medals. The obverse shows a red enameled cross in the center surrounded by a laurel wreath, and the reverse shows an enameled Manchukuo flag in the center, with characters for Manchukuo on top, and “Red Cross Society Regular Member” in the bottom. No date appears, but because the silver is thinner, and the design and Chinese characters adopted are more Chinese than Japanese, one can safely guess that it was issued after October, 1943, during the last war years (*).

Detail close up

Detail close up

Detail close up

Reverse

And now this very interesting “red cross medal with Manchu flag” (same piece that we saw before, but now it is “washed”) Obverse

Let’s translate downright 員會譽名 員 – member 會 – society 譽名 – reputable 國中 國 – country/state/nation 中 – middle 會字十紅 會 – Society 字 – Symbol (字十 – Cross) 紅 – Red

Central medallion reverse

Central medallion obverse

Close up of reverse

Close up of obverse

Order of Red Cross reverse (general view)

Order of Red Cross obverse (general view)

Rosette close up

Special Member Reverse

Special Member Obverse

Full Member Reverse

A collection of better quality scans Full Member Obverse (or Regular Member )

Hi Richard, That's a good one Sounds like a (more or less ) reasonable price. It sure will be interesting Regards, Nick

Yep, nice specimen with 1500$ "buy it now" price

Red box - 95% probability that inside is an shiny aluminum medal ... Or visa versa :lol:

Maybe it is pure accident? Nice one mate :cheers:

Yep, this doctor looks familiar :cheers: