Dieter3

Yeeeeaaaaahhhhh.........interesting, eh? And didn't sell for even 500 yen. Hmmmmm.............. Fascinating.

PASS! (As if I had the money anyway..... )

Speaking of which, why isn't Nick Komiya here with us?? Or is he?? ;)

So, what else? Anything? You mentioned the kanji so I'll have to re-examine that. Any othe distinct feature differences?

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Almost mine! I considered bidding in the original auction but decided to pass on it. But I often save photos for study and documentation: http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2012/post-6375-0-24039200-1350251586.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2012/post-6375-0-23565100-1350251593.jpg Look familiar? :lol: :lol:

Photos can be deceiving, but I agree with Nick - not much silver left, not nearly like Rich's. Seems to lean in the direction of an original bronze being plated rather than a specimen of a different alloy altogether. But like I said, photos can be deceiving.

It would appear that the "suspension" - or whatever we want to call the part that is attached to the medallion - has a distinctly different shape than the replicas - appears to be a bit longer and more curvy. No? Mr. Smile likes it! Unless he's wrong. That's my professional artistic ability manifesting thanks to the extremely advanced graphic design software I am using. :lol:

Well, I don't know. You'd think so yes, that plating in other than silver would be cost effective - but I don't know what the value of silver would have been at the time - but even today, silver is not worth a lot relatively speaking, and plating would really be cheap, for the metal anyway - don't know about the process! But the big question, is why plate it in anything BUT silver? I mean, most of the other metals wouldn't carry the same kind of prestige as silver, right? I would agree with this - it just doesn't seem worth it. True!! No doubt about it - it certainly looks exactly like the ones with which we are more familiar! Not at all questioning the quality, simply trying assess the base and plate material, if it is indeed plated! If I had to guess, I'd say this is probably a normal bronze medal that has been plated and the bronze is corroding through the plating. Nickel was definitely in use by this time, I do not know what sorts of nickel alloys were being used when these would have been made - but perhaps is is some sort of copper-nickel alloy? Like I said before, whatever it is - fascinating! Perhaps these are even very early examples that managed to get out into the world before the decision was made to use bronze! We know this has happened in the case of other medals, so why not these too? Maybe some day we will have the answer, but my guess is that we will never know! Whatever the background - surely seems unique!

Are my eyes working now? :lol:

Oxidation of metals is corrosion..... But you do see the same thing that I do in the photo - which indicates the presence of copper or an alloy thereof, like bronze. So it's gotta be a plated piece - but not silver. Nickel? Zinc? Hmmm. But why? Curious. What would be the point of plating in anything other than silver? But Rich says there is no corrosion, and the green we see is not there - meaning then that this piece is possibly plated, or a full alloy of something, not bronze. Mystery deepens! Fascinating. I don't know why anybody would bother to plate the piece to begin with - what would be the point, unless somebody simply attempted to sex these things up to make them "rare", like gold plating 7th class Kites? I don't buy that, but can't dismiss it entirely. I'm going with the solid alloy theory though! Seems quite plausible..

Hmmmm. There is so much variation in all of these replicas. Help me out here! What specific parts am I looking at that I need to compare? What is distinctly different? I have no doubt they are there, but what to look for? Any differences aren't jumping out at me.

I'd have to have it in hand, but unless it was an alloy of some kind, silver doesn't corrode like that! Gotta have copper in it somewhere and maybe nickel-plated?

Looks like somebody might have plated it, I very much doubt it was produced like this, but perhaps there were a few unique ones made for special individuals? You can see what appears to be the bronze corroding through, or perhaps an entirely different alloy! Interesting......

What specifically gives this away as an original? I don't know that I'd trust one to be so unless a Japanese expert was specifically able to identify one as such. You're right about the ribbon!

Now why would you say that, you're not that old! (are you...? ) Or were you thinking of leaving Japan at some point?

One thing though, I definitely like to change from the rosette pin to the button for the modern awards! More classy in my ever-evolving opinions..... ;)

Of course Lion , you are welcome to post in any place! Forum for All!! :)

FWIW - Rich's newsletter is very good, a real bargain if you ask me, definitely worth the subscription price.

Don't get me wrong, they're not bad, the new ones! I'm just old fashioned, I guess! All the new stuff just lacks a certain "luxury" in my opinion.

Wait, now I see - you meant the 1904/05 Red Cross commemorative! My mind drifted and I was thinking about the war medal! Sorry. Yeah, these things - they sit on Y!JA all the time for 1,000 yen. They're so common, they're only seemingly worth anything if they have their cases and the mini-document that you sometimes see. The ones with the Geneva Cross, a bit different - definitely go for more, but nothing outrageous! What forum? Is there a forum here? ;)

Only for those on serious crack. However, yes, I'd pay $100.00 for MINT specimen (rotsa ruck findin' one!) I have seen in excess of $130.00 for the 1904/05 war medal in good condition, not close to mint. I haven't been paying close attention to prices for these on eBay lately - are they reaching this insane level?

No, this is not a merit medal - this is a commemorative medallion for the Russo-Japanese War and these were not officially hung from ribbons, though you can occasionally find them on both men's and women's ribbons (very easy to hang onto a woman's ribbon especially!). The EXACT purpose of other types of suspension is unknown, but one theory suggests they were possibly worn by medical staff. The twisty pin on your medal can be observed on numerous other medallions, not only of the Red Cross, in fact you do not see these that often on Red Cross pieces, not original to the piece. Lion, those are definitely good prices if the medals are in good condition! Can you share with us the shop name and location?

I've seen the dark blues ones at auction before, they definitely claim a much higher price than the earlier style! Personally, I like the earlier versions.

Wow! Like they had to use extra effort to make it a fake! :lol: