Dieter3

I saw this at the common auction site and the price was less than $20 and it had the case - so it was a PURE impulse buy. When I got it in had I was rather struck smitten by it. I never thought I would ever collect Japanese items, but this is very amazing in quality and detail. I like things in a case and this case though mass produced has quality, secondly the order itself = though I think its the lowest class - still has extreme quality. I dont know anything about Japanese medals, but I think the collection will grow soon. If anyone can look at the images and give me more information (time period manufacute, what they were awarded for, etc...) I would greatly appreciate it.

HA! You've been "bitten"! Your first Japanese award, sounds like it won't be your last! I especially like the case on your award - the kanji for 8 (八) is a form less often seen as compared to others, at least from my observations.

Yeah, looks real enough to me, though I've never handled this class of award, only seen them under glass! And I'd second that comment from Paul, I'd avoid anything from China period.

New arrival, Gold Order with lapel pin, and the original box for the pin! It's kind of hard to see, but the box has a faint red stamp of the kanji "金" for gold. Pretty good shape overall, I did not know the little box was even present until it arrived, a pleasant surprise!

Managed one with a case, nice crisp ribbon, tarnishing but I don't think I'll touch it. I found it interesting that the top piece of the case is actually two separate pieces of wood:

Thanks Tim!

Yeah, these seem to be few and far between for really, really nice specimens. I'd imagine the best of the best are in the hands of dedicated collectors and won't come up all so often. I sure wouldn't mind obtaining at least one more like this one, or nicer of course! I prefer things in 3's though. you seem them often enough (relatively speaking), but they are caseless, or in a less than adequate state for my desires. But at least one is better than none, so I've gotta pretty happy about that! Now, for that 1874 War Medal......

Well congrats! Yet another reason I wish I could read more Japanese.

Well, all the better motivation to study and learn it!!

I certainly don't mind! I got this at auction from Yahoo! Japan.

congrats Dieter! you found a very nice one! any hallmark?

cheers

a l e x

Thanks! I didn't see any hallmarks on initial inspection, but I'll give it another once-over! (I guess that'd be a twice-over.....)

Well, I finally found one that I was fairly happy with. It's not as nice as I'd like, but it's better than going without for the rest of time! At least it has a pretty nice case. Fairly light wear overall, a few ribbon blemishes and light soiling, but the color is still good. I'll be on the prowl for a better one at some point.

Glad you've had luck so far. Let us know if you have any issues! The seller that contacted me also sent with tracking info, but the guy claimed there was nothing in the package when he got it, hopefully he won't pull the same thing with you. Perhaps he even visits this forum and if so, hopefully will see this and stop with BS!

Gents,

I know several of you are eBay sellers and may have already had dealings with this person on eBay - if you have sold to him, I hope you didn't have any issues. If you have not dealt with him beware - I believe he's ripping people off. If you have dealt with him and been screwed, I'd encourage you to contact eBay and make a complaint:

Most recent user ID was: captainzhuang - based in Singapore. He has changed his user ID at least once prior to this. I had sent him an item several months back - he claimed not to have received it - I actually kept in close contact with him asking if he had received it or not as several other items had already been received that went out at the same time to farther locations, but his had not. He said he had not received it, I asked him to keep me posted but rather than try to work things out with me, he opened up a case on eBay which immediately freezes a seller's funds and forces your hand. ALAS - lesson learned, I had not sent it with delivery confirmation so I lost completely and had no choice but to refund him (well, buyer protection covers him and I lose the money AND the item.) Never had an issue with items going anywhere, Russia, Aussie-land, Europe, this was the first. Anyway.....

I was recently contacted by another seller - sent a nice medal, this guy claims there was nothing in the package when he received it. This seller started reviewing transaction between this guy and other folks and concluded this guy is full of KRAP. He contacted other sellers (of medals) that had the same thing happen - sent three medals, only two were in the box, never got the box, nothing in the package, and so on. COMMON. Either the guy is dishonest, or Singaporean customs/post has some thieves. (I suppose this is possible, but I doubt it - Singapore seems to be a pretty straight-shooting country for the most part.) I firmly believe this guy is ripping people off. This other seller is encouraging people to contact eBay if they feel the same way about this guy and file a complaint. Please do note, it is almost impossible to PROVE anything, so I can't outright call him a thief - but I believe him to be so.

So anyway, like I said - SELLERS BEWARE with this dude. I'd be very interested to know if any of you have had dealings, good or bad with him.

Well, just remember - you're only getting half the 4th class award though! By the time your repair the 4th class, it will still only be 1/2 the award but at some additional cost for the ribbon and all. It might appear correct, but it will never be the original. If you just want a framed piece for looks, I guess that's O.K. - but I tell you, I've seen some framed pieces that incorporate the original case and rosette, sometimes a document - they are sweet looking, for sure! You sure you don't want to hold out??? Just think about it before you jump on it, you don't want to be disappointed in the future. If you're really limited by a set budget, well, I can understand that, we've all been there! :rolleyes:

My opinion - do not waste your time trying to replace the ribbon - don't buy the piece. Hold out, and buy yourself a cased award with the original ribbon and rosette. You will be able to find one, they are not all that uncommon. Again, just my opinion - but I like complete, original pieces.

Thanks Paul, I thought it might have been a British award. That's the Sino-Japanese War medal though, isn't it?

Here's a larger of the portrait I wanted to share you with you all - this is actually a scan of a professional photo of the portrait shown above.

Questions for you seasoned experts - 1) What is the order in the center? 2) The Rising Sun w/Paulownia Flowers is superior to the Rising Sun, but is it superior to the Golden Kite? (It must be, or else he would be wearing the sash for the Golden Kite right?)

Na, I believe this is a fabrication. Real medallion, but the ribbon is not official; the texture just seems wrong to me and the proportion just looks off. Somebody made this, or so is my opinion. I could be wrong. Regardless, it sure is interesting!

Certainly not official, but interesting:

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/61530-記章-戦捷記章-婦人/auction/e109344881

This person's name is Katsuhara (family name) Heikichi (first name).

Yeah, from what I gather - there isn't a whole lot to be concerned about with Japanese fakes. It sounds like Chinese and German fakes are a real issue though from people that I've talked to. Not saying there aren't Japanese fakes, but I believe many of these have been documented and are legitimate copies for whatever reason, with no intent to deceive. That said, there are plenty of replacement ribbons and rosettes out there, so it wouldn't be too hard for a seller to fix something up to try to get a higher price for something - but I just don't think this is really worth it for the average Japanese medal seller, more for a collector to complete an item or when an original piece is missing or very badly damaged/deteriorated. Here's one of those catalog replicas - unfortunately the pics. are small, so you can't really make out the characters. This one has been up for sale forever and a day:

http://page10.auctio...ction/m74408222

If I can remember, I'll hunt through my photo collection and see if I have a closer shot of the kanji stating "COPY/REPLICA", not sure that I do though.

The one issue that has been discussed with 6th class Golden Kites is the re-plating of 7th class awards in gold to fake people into thinking they're buying a 6th. Don't know how prevalent this is, but I'd guess not too prevalent.

Looks totally different to me - you can tell the ones in those pics are replicas (unless there is something better looking that I couldn't find on the site??) This one in that catalog doesn't show the reverse, but the ones I've seen for sale at auction and such are typically stamped "Replica" on the reverse. Case looks wrong too - shape stands out as odd to me, as do the material folds at the hinge interior. The hook, what little I can see, looks wrong, and the ribbon sits wrong on the ring. The one you're posted above looks good to me, but I'm not an expert.

April 1st, 39th year of Meiji = 1906. Somebody else will have to translate the name, or I can have it done when I get home tonight by my resident translator....

I second that congrats to the seller. I sure wasn't me that won...my bidding stopped long before it got that high.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there really is no way to match a medal to a document. The seller split the medal and document and they went to two different people. But there really is no way to say that the medal was the actual one issued to him in the first place, right? The seller claims it is, but there is no way to prove OR disprove that fact...so wouldn't any Nomonhan medal be just as good with the document?

I actually tinkered with the idea of bidding on the two, but I tuned in at one point and say prices busting $300.00 and just kinda chuckled and mumbled something about people putting away their crack pipes...

There is no real way to match a document with a medal UNLESS you get it from the family or individual directly. We're at the whim of the seller to be honest, or not. And believe me - A LOT of these medals and documents that you see sold as pairs are indeed not - they are purchased separately and then put together as such. After watching sales closely for the past two years on multiple auction sites, you get to know what's going on. I'm NOT saying all sellers do this or are dishonest, but some are, no question. So you either trust them or you don't. I don't like dishonest sales though, turns me off to a seller IF I discover they are up to no good.

This one however, I would imagine there is a good chance they really are matched - the medals aren't exactly rare, but the documents are not seen often. I suppose the seller could have bought one and waited for the other to set up a sweet deal, but I'd guess not in this case. No way to be sure.

These two even out-competed a Boxer rebellion medal (without case) for $425.00 and a document for $395.00!!! Different sellers. YIKES!!

And the Nomonhan seller even brought in $336.00 for a cased Capital Rehab. Medal. Way to go!! My hat is off to him.

And Emperor Meiji is in Kyoto as well, sure wish I cold have gotten there for that visit. Sounds like some good hiking for sure though and the other sites would be fascinating to see as well! I did get a chance to visit the small museum at Meiji Jingu that houses several of Emperor Meiji's things, the highlight being the carriage that was used for events including the Constitutional celebration. VERY COOL. Alas, no photos allowed. But they also had a portrait display of every emperor from the first one (Jimmu?) through Hirohito - lots of them!! That was a lot of work by the artist that did them all.