Dieter3

Youzers!! What period was it? Do you know who the original recipient was??

How much would a Grand Cordon, Golden Kite go for??? Many thousands no doubt!!

Got this one recently, wondering if you can help me date it. This must be the predecessor to the modern medals in the black cases that spring open. This one does not do that and has a kinda fancy clasp mechanism to it, engraved. No idea what the exterior covering is, but it seems similar to the Showa period medals with the paper wrapped exteriors. Glossy, kinda thick this stuff. Interior is like the later case interiors. Any info/help on this one appreciated, wondering the time frame for these - would Showa up to early war era be correct?

This would be excellent work! I'm very interested in this sort of information. Considering so many records were destroyed during the war, the numbers we find on certificates are certainly of benefit, but poking at the mint may definitely be of some value. You've gotta figure - there's some old timer out there that knows something, or has data. Some pieces of the puzzle may have been lost, but I know some of them are still waiting to be found with the persistent work of folks on this forum like Rich and Paul! Very good points and rationale for collecting!

Hi Paul, To add to the high numbers data - Boxer Rebellion - 38,009 1st National Census - 209,814 Taisho Enthronement - 155,951 :cheers:

It's baaaaack...... http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f93162791

Ha, ha!! I did manage to get a document and it's in pretty good shape at least. No holes or tears, so I'm happy about that!! One of deese days, I'll gets me a medal!! I must admit though, part of the enjoyment of this hobby is being on the hunt for that piece you're really after....I'm going to be hunting for a long time...... RARE - To me - this has to be backed up by numbers. I think it is legitimate to say the 1874 and original Great East Asia War Medals are RARE - they simply weren't made in large numbers. I think it would be also safe to say that compared to the China Incident Medal, the Boxer Rebellion medal is RARE. It's pretty relative, but when something was made in very small numbers or survived in very small numbers, it's rare to me! Really need raw production numbers as a place to start.

Congrats Brian!! I sure hope I can find one of these by the end of this year that can satisfy my ultra-picky self! Do you collect the presentation documents as well?? Paul, do you know what the medal count was on the Japanese Boxer medals??

Tell me about it, and I've got a 2600th Anniversary medal on my spreadsheet that went for $100.00!!

New arrival. No case unfortunately, but I figured they are uncommon enough that it was well worth it. In pretty good condition overall, some light soiling, a few small issues. Medallion is pretty nice I think. Would love to see a picture of a case, anybody have a pic.?

And here is proof to all of this! A rather unexceptional Russo-Japan War medal - final price = $96.00!! Am I missing something?? These bidders all had low feedback numbers - the winner had 0 - either this fellow knows something I don't, or they are suffering from serious impulse buying?? Good on that seller! TAQUITO - my apologies - I did not intend to derail your thread!!

My problem is there are simply too many of those!!

One thing I've definitely learned is not be surprised by anything in this hobby!! I certainly would not be if this piece fetched well over $500.00!!! I'm merely guesstimating based on data collection of just the past year. And I'm not saying it wouldn't be worth that price - value is simply what somebody is willing to pay. God knows I've paid WAY over average costs for things because they met my criteria, where cost tends to be secondary. Unless I'm broke, like now.

One thing, value is totally what one is willing to pay; highly subjective as is condition. This seller calls this an "excellent" example. Relative to many others I have seen, it is a good example for sure. Excellent? I personally don't think so. Again, this is where the subjectivity comes into play - based on (my) set criteria, I rate this as a Fair(+) piece overall. It has a moderate amount of soiling, some obvious staining, and fade, loss of luster. There is some wear to it, but it remains intact with no visible holes or abrasions. The medallion and metals are nice with the typical patina and a few minor bits of corrosion. The case has some light marks and such, but the interior looks nice - these are often faded. The gold writing is nice and the case is intact according to the seller. Yes, yes, of course one can make the claim it's good for its age - but when you can find specimens of equal age in much better condition, is that a fair statement? (Should age really play into descriptive condition? I don't think so.) But does all this really matter? NO! It boils down to what YOU are happy with and willing to pay for that level of happiness! You should contact the seller and just inquire about the reserve, see if it's even within your range. A lot of sellers WILL divulge if you ask them. My guess is simply based on observations, this will grab between $325-$375 (place yer bets!). But I've been really surprised to see nice pieces (in general, not necessarily Boxer medals) go for stupidly low prices and total pieces of junk go for eye-opener prices. Clearly, the direction the wind blows has some bearing. Hey, if I was swimming in money I'd buy it just to buy it! But I'm just gonna sit tight and wait for a really "nice" one to come along (hope!) and get something I really like given limited funds and space, I'll probably only get ONE of these. These aren't exactly like the China Incident medal!

It really depends on condition. Obviously, nicer items fetch more money! Do you have a picture? Based on data that I have collected, I could give you some idea of what the "going price" might be for a piece of given condition. Over the past year, the highest price I have seen was ¥40,500 with a case, and overall in good condition. The NICEST one I have seen, case and in very good(-) condition went for ¥36,000. The absolute worst one I observed went for $214.50 and was in poor(-) condition, with case. The CHEAPEST one I saw went for ¥13,000 - Fair(-) condition, no case. They are all over the map really. I've not averaged the data yet (I'll be presenting a year's worth of data soon!!) - but by eyeballing it, I'd have to say $250-$350 on the average, that's a a big spread. I have yet to see one that meets my criteria of Very Good or better, but I am very tough on grading pieces. Post a pic. if you have one you're selling or are interested in, and I can compare it to my data. Hope this helps.

Yep! Save that one! A number of these come up missing the lids!

Give us a picture!

The RESERVE was 1,000,000??? WOW. Thanks for that clarification. I see that seller's other auction, the Constitutional Promulgation medal must not have met reserve either as it appears to be a restarted auction. Must have a steep reserve on that one too!

Looks like it hit the 1,000,000 yen price level, but it appears that there were no winners? I guess the reserve price was not met, or perhaps I'm not understanding things clearly. Hmmm. Well, that is a bit pricey for something with a replacement ribbon.

This pic. was taken in 2007, but the lights are there on the posts in that black and white one - you can juuuuust make one out if you look hard enough and strain the eyeballs! :lol:

Here is that same bridge and building from a different angle:

I think this first one is the Yasukuni Shrine. The second one looks like Imperial grounds.

It does show a box - but it does say "Original Box?" - with the question mark! Paul, is that the one??