Dieter3

It does show a box - but it does say "Original Box?" - with the question mark!

Paul, is that the one??

Alex:

I did now!! Damn! Where do these people come up with this stuff?? I wonder if the same original owner was that of the 1874 and that Constitutional medal!

I gotcha, didn't catch it the first time. Registering with Babelfish could be a problem!! I'm just fortunate enough to have access to a native speaker that helps me out when needed.

Paul:

What gives it away that it is a replacement ribbon?? (That is, besides the auction actually indicating it....) What were the original boxes like??

Everyone:

Whose loaning me the ¥500,000??? My wife already told me "NO", so I'm counting on you'ze guys.....

You are right! I'm getting all of these rebellions, campaigns, saigos and time periods mixed up in my noodle!!

Authentic medal with replacement ribbon.

I certainly don't doubt that, but how do you know? The hook doesn't look right, but could just that be the replacement? Rich, do you know if that is an original case, and is that a push button release mechanism??

very interesting post, thanks dieter! I always found it hard to search through the yahoo auctions, not knowing any japanese. Is there a trick to set this page to english??

best regards

a l e x

I haven't tried it, but how about Babelfish?? I know just enough to navigate me where I need to go!! I was cruising through pages actually and saw that one, didn't think anything of it, went to next page, then said, WHOA! BACK UP!! Closer inspection and just about pee'd my pants!

Oh My God!

How much is THAT going for?

Isn't that Saigos' campaign; the last great Samurai war?

It was at 150,000 yen, but I think that seller has a reserve price, who knows what it it though. What do you guys wager, 500,000+ yen?? At least??? This is the Taiwan expedition BTW.

The Real Deal?

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f86939446

If it is, I can't believe a seller would offer such crappy pictures!!:speechless:

O.K., found one in the plastic case! Still no idea what they come with though.....

Hey Dieter

Thank you for the Pictures, interesting that they are so pricey! Maybe they came in different cases back then here is a now running auction from "imperialjapan" whit the same case as mine:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item53e11a0062

Indeed!! But by my observations, these Manchukuo medals, especially like the special member's, etc. is like comparing the commonality of a Boxer medal to a China Incident medal!!! I have seen so very few over this past year. And with so few specimens of any type, you knows how many variations of case there could be. Yours could very well be an original!

Hi there

The red cross medals aren't on top of my search list but i got it for 130$ so I had to buy it. It's not easy to find this medal cased I belief, and I hope someone can translate the characters on it. Plus I will backpack travel through the manchurian region this summer for one month, visiting Puyi's palace in Hsinking (now Changchun), Port Arthur (Dalian), Mukden (Shenyang) and Harbin. So that's also a reason why I focused my historical reading and medal hunt on Manchukuo. I also hope I will find some interesting Museums were I can get pictures of medals to post here. beside, my next big project (comparable to your hunt for a Boxer Medal Dieter) will be finding a Manchurian Enthronement Commemmorative Medal.

cheers

a l e x

I'm am super-interested in Port Arthur!! Gotta get oodles of pics.!!!

That Enthronement medal, as you know, is a lot harder to find than the Boxers!! I hope you can do it!! I've observed perhaps a dozen for sale over this past year, they seem to fetch in the $400-500 U.S. range for what I consider "average" quality pieces. Here is a pic. of a member's medal with the case and lapel pin, and a special member's medal, case and lapel pin (this was pricey!!). Wish I could claim them as my own!!! You can see they are different though, so my guess is the case you have is not original. The style seems probable, but no writing? They may not all have been marked though, I just don't know enough about 'em.

Cool!! I like these. Gee wiz though, they can be pricey!! I saw a ladies version a few days ago, and I saw a special members and certificate go a few months back for several hundred each. Yes, the seller broke the medal and the document up in hopes to make more money. (Pinhead in my opinion for doing that with a substantially uncommon set!! But I digress....) Fortunately, the same buyer was able to win both auctions.

I can't honestly remember - but something tells me they actually did go to the same buyer. Really!

I try!!! But for every really nice piece, I end up with at least one or two that are not as nice as I thought they'd be. Let's just say my definition of "good" and the average seller's definition is very different and pictures can be deceiving as we all know. Still, gotta take some risks provided they aren't TOO expensive. :speechless:

These were on Yahoo! Japan Auctions.....

Entrancing and jaw-dropping, to be sure. Well done! It was a filthy campaign and most would be posthumously awarded. I'm not aware of the rare variant you mention.

Satsuma

Yes, the less common variant's medallion differs somewhat and the suspension bar has a slightly different pattern than this one. You can see the differences in the Orders and Medals of Japan book.

Well, I don't collect Chinese medals, but I've certainly heard the stories about the fakes!! That's really too bad.

Proceed with caution. Lots of reproductions & aged repros

Japanese stuff? Have you had any bad experiences?

I figured waiting would pay off, sometimes it's hard to be patient!! I do need to find that more rare variant of course, might be a little less picky on that one.....:blush:

This is almost certainly a military award for the China Incident since it was awarded on 29th April 1940. Showa order certificates do not show military rank, only Meiji era order certs have the recipients rank details.

Thanks Paul for that clarification, as I only have Meiji era docs. for the Rising Sun! This is good to know.

I finally found one I liked after nearly a year of looking! I'm sure I've missed plenty of nice specimens, but everything I see always seem to have pretty beat up cases (though often nice medals), or medals in not so good condition, faded, etc. Well, this one ain't perfect, but it ain't too bad. I'm pretty happy with it. Now to just find a nice Boxer Rebellion medal, my goal by the end of the year....

Many thanks Dieter. Those are the sort of concerns I had - does the medal really belong with this certificate?

The colour of the writing on the box lid is greyish (silver?) Hopefully these close-ups will assist you.

So, I believe the silver colored writing is consistent with the period, earlier ones were of gold, so I think you're good there. I believe this was issued to a civilian, Mr. Masao Daishou (Taishou?). I don't see a military rank there. I'd say there is a good chance the award and certificate go together (at least period-wise), but it's hard to be 100% certain short of acquiring the items directly from a family, or from a VERY reputable seller, or someone you truly trust. Alas, I've seen too many instances of awards and documents being put together and sold as matched, when indeed they were not. I'd like to think the majority are legitimate, and they probably are.

For what it's worth, the ribbons look identical, and unmessed with. If this was painted or touched up somehow, it was done very nicely - and the ribbon must not have been in place - meaning this was done before assembling the piece, or the ribbon was replaced. It shows no signs of whatever the finish is on the ribbon. It would have been hard to apply in my opinion with the ribbon in place. It doesn't have an unusual odor, or anything that an old medal doesn't smell like, so it wasn't done recently, pretty sure it is paint though.

So - this must be some type of early, prototype medal - the makers wanted to visualize what it might look like in darkened bronze before finalizing the product so they simply painted it black, and utilized the earlier construction of the 1914-15 medal, and it is worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. :lol:

-OR- more likely, it's nothing special!! Some dude just colored it in with a Sharpie to make it look pretty!

Anyway, I'd really appreciate any opinions or info on it. Anybody else encounter something like this???

This is interesting - the suspension on the "normal" medal does not have exposed pins, the "painted" - one does! I don't have a lot of examples of these medals; I have 3x 1914-15 and they all have exposed pins. Not including the oddball, I have 3x 1914-20 medals - none of them have these exposed pins. ???

Normal:

"Painted":

The catch for the hook is different. I don't think that it indicates anything in particular, but it is interesting (to me anyway).

Reverse:

X

The obverses and bars: