Gunjinantiques

No, I haven't seen one. Ever. But I can tell you other rare medals are still go for as much, if not more now. So, if the last time you saw that going for the $5000 range, you can be sure it's more than that now. It's like Japanese art in the 1980s, the Japanese are finally starting to catch on that they have some "neat" stuff worth collecting.

Nice, we have two 1914-1915 medals with different stamps.

Here's a 1914-1915 war medal with a 大 "DAI" kanji stamped on the back. I've seen the same mark on the rising sun and red cross medals too. And the mystery continues... :speechless1:

$5000? Heck, I've got 10 of those medals laying around. $10 each! JUST KIDDING. ;)

What was the ID name? Nice to be able to avoid bidders like that before they get a chance to try their monkey business... :shame:

No, anyone who welches gets on the blocked bidder list. Could you imagine?

Hi Tim The older ones probably have the smaller ring. I didn't even notice the CF until I photographed it. Had to wipe some of the patina away to tell what it was. I imagine a lot of these go through people's hands and they never even see the markings. I hope this topic can work as a data base. John

Here's a 6th class rising sun with a "CF" on the back of the knob. Anyone have a clue? "Chicken Fart" maybe? :speechless:

Nice, never seen one with the 大 mark on it before.

Oh yeah, now I remember, I DID have one. And it sold on eBay for cheap. I remember thinking it was going to sell for a good price because it was marked and it sold for less than one with no mark. You win some, you lose some... I'm sure it's the only Golden Kite I've ever seen that was marked. They must be quite rare, because I've had several pass through my hands...

You can see one here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-JAPANESE-PATRI...A1%7C240%3A1318 I collect Meiji era to WWII era. I'm mostly interested in patriotic themed ones, but also look for ones made from sword parts like menuki and kozuka handles (only have one so far)...

Upon closer inspection I see what I thought read "BI" actually reads "HEI." The same character is used in ZOUHEIKYOKU (The Japan Mint). Didn't notice it until I took a photo of it and posted it. I hope I didn't mislead anyone... I started a topic just for hallmarks and markings on Japanese medals and badges. If you got 'em, post 'em!

Here's a 4th class sacred treasure with what I thought looked like the kanji "BI" on the back. Same kanji used in "BIJIN" (beautiful woman). Upon closer inspection I think it reads "HEI." The same character is used in ZOUHEIKYOKU (The Japan Mint). :speechless:

This one is an army special large maneuvers commemoration badge with a great relief of the imperial general headquarters on the front. Note on the back, very bottom it's dated Showa 9 nen 11 gatsu (November, 1934). It's the kanji that is used to write "11" which is a real tough to learn. The maker's decal is inside of the lid, note the great looking samurai helmet.

I'm clearing out my collection of Japanese medals and badges to concentrate on Meiji to WWII obidome. I wanted to share some photos of the more unusual pieces before I sell them and they are gone forever. The first piece commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Russo-Japanese War. Check out that enameled "Z flag." The fate of the nation depends on this battle!

Here's a neat one I found on my computer. Thought I'd share it.

I know this is old, just can't help expessing my displeasure at seeing someone copy one of my pictures and paste it in this forum without my permission, then see the phrase "E$cam at its best!!!" attached to it. I assure you I've never scammed anyone. And a large portion of those "real" dealers you hold in such high esteem are buying their merchandise from me, so keep buying from them, it keeps us all in business. I appreciate those who stuck up for me in this forum.

Gosh, I can't recall ever seeing one marked either. Paul would know if anyone does.

In Japan the problem is not forgetting history... The problem is nobody knows history. The same problem is in America too.

Maybe the owners of the home were midgets and the roof was only 5 feet off the ground? ;)

And how they're all looking in the same direction too. Hard to capture an image like this even if it was posed. Definately somewhere in China...

Emperor Puyi state visit to Japan medal with "M 1000" on the ring. That 1000 certainly denotes the silver content. And according to the OMSA book the M is for the Osaka mint...

This might be interesting and educational for us all... Show the front of the item then a nice picture of the mark... The first item is the 1928 Emperor Showa enthronement medal. This one has a "S" on the ring. I assume it stands for "Silver."

I can't imagine how many medals went through my hands that were marked without me knowing it... I guess it was a problem of being dazzled by them, but not sititng down and closely inspecting... I just had to relist the "S" stamped medal on eBay. The high bidder won 19 items before they decided they couldn't pay for them (high bidder who welched) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=120396546982