alex82

Paul hmmm, this puzzles me, because the Auction I got the picture from was is mid 2005, long before all these these fakes popped up on ebay. the description for the backside on the website is: "Chinese inscription on reverse (stamped), with thin wire clasp on reverse (mounted the other way round as usual!)" - This also sounds like the fake one. I also had one of these fakes a wile ago (I gave it to a friend who works in a theater) On the left is a current fake from ebay (by a seller who calls himself "Fresh Air") and on the right the one from the auction back in 2005, they look nearly identical except the one on the right look like made out of silver:

Hello Paul This is not my medal, I found the picture in a database of a well known auction house here in Switzerland. Unfortunately they didn't have a picture of the backside. but the more I look at this medal it seems not 100% real to me, could this probably be a fake? this looks a lot like the common fakes on ebay. I didn't thought on these in the first place because the auction house has a good reputation. of course the back would tell us more here.

very nice! never saw a miniature of this medal before. where they manufactured in Europe after the owner came back with this from china or came they with the original medal? thanks for the picture! a l e x

Hello Gentlemen I recently browsed through databases of long past Auctions on the internet. one of the things which always fascinate me is the huge amount versions of the same medal exists in Chinese (pre-communist) medals. Here is a example, which I found worth sharing with you, of a Striped Tiger breast star. This is the first one I saw with these fine silver painting in the stripes, face and claws of the Tiger. This is one of the medals I dream of, to have in my collection, for a long time. If you own one, it would be nice to see them here… best regards a l e x

very nice Paul! I now found this similar order in the Chinese Orders Book from Gongqing Li. But there it is called the Order of Common Honor and it looks pretty much the same expect the ribbon color (Red and White). Where is the difference beetwen these two?

Thank you very much Jeff! I've never heard about this Order does anyone posses one? I would love to see a picture...

I agree with Dieter on this one here is the front of the medal...

Hi all I found this picture of Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi on the internet. He was the officer responsible for the defense of Iwo Jima. Does someone know which medal he is wearing on the lower right? a l e x

Of course I bought something for my own collection as well... The 3th class rising sun is a pacific veteran bring-back from a marine captain which his wife sold in a yardsale after he died. And there is a 5th class Auspicious Cloud, both medals are in perfect condition, no stains at all and cased, just how I like them.

Hello Gentlemen I'm back from the "show of shows" in Louisville and as some of you told me it was damn worth it to make the trip there. The only thing you have to endure (unless you have a huge wallet with you) is that you will see a lot of stuff you simply cant afford, for me it was sometimes very depressing to see all that beautiful stuff who was way out of my league. Here a picture of a sellers stand which almost make my eyes pop out... you see right there was a first, second, 3th and class Auspicious Cloud cased right in front of me on the table for sale! If I only had the money!!:banger:

@Tim B: that is a very nice flag I recognice the bit caracter in the center of the rising sun of the second flag you posted it is "力". I only know a little Chinese where it is spoken as "Li" which means power. I think "力" has the same meaning in Japanese.

This is such a ugly copy!! :banger:

Hello Dieter You said "And too many Boxers seem to be missing their lids for whatever reason". Funny that you mentioned that, I thought exactly the same thing over the past few years I saw so many Boxer Medals with ether a broken or a missing lid. Other medals like the WWI victory medal or the Taisho census for example with the same wooden case have always a complete lid. By comparing the case of the boxer medal with the other medals in wooden boxes I think that they are slightly different in fabrication, for example the boxer looks like if I would craft such a box, the parts are not fitting perfectly, and the others look like the work of a carpenter. I think the Boxer lid is also a bid thinner and easy to brake. however I wish you patience here it's worth it. cheers a l e x

That is exactly what I did Dieter… Its for sure worth it to wait until you find one in good condition and with a nice case so good luck to you. I hope I can find some interesting thins in Louisville on the "show of shows" this week to post here.

Hello and thank you for your replay @Richard: Unfortunately I wasn't the lucky one, my limit was 2000$ and I was way outbid with almost 5000$. (Sorry for my, sometimes, confusing Englisch) So you think 5000$ or 2000$ is a good price for this medal? @Hugh: It's interesting how fast the prices raised over the last five years, I followed a lot of auctions over the last 2 years and 1100$ for DD (Neck badge and star) is, in my opinion, a extrem low price. Any guess why the prices for pre communist chinese medals ar so high now compared to a few years ago? and here is the reverse of the medal from ebay, unfortunately there was no picture of the case… many thanks a l e x

Hello I thought this is worth posing here, this Double Dragon went away for about 4800$ last Saturday. I did also bid for it but my personal limit was 2000$ so no chance for me there. Do you think that almost 5000$ is a good price or much to high for this medal? (I came with the original case) greetings a l e x

Very nice, Adam!!!!!! :jumping:

I payed 80$ for a 8th class rising sun in very bad condition, but this was before I found this site... And about the BoB follower , because I'm a big fan too, it is called "the Pacific"; same concept same producers! The Trailer looks awesome: http://www.hbo.com/events/pacific/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacific_%28miniseries%29

Thank you very much JBFloyd, this is the information i was looking for, i booked a flight to Chicago and a car to drive down to Kentucky today. I hope I can present the souvenirs of my trip here soon. cheers

Hello Gentlemen I heard from different collectors and dealers here in Europe that the so called "Show of Shows" in Louisville (18-21 February 2010) is the place to look for japanese medals and general all militaria. Does some of you been there in the past and is it worth going? I'm thinking about making the trip to the Louisville because first, it's a wile since i've been in the states and second if this is a good place for a medal collector to go it's probably worth it. thank you a l e x

nice one! Thanks for these exclusive pictures paul! best regards

can you post a link to your ebay store? cheers a l e x

It looks like a swan or a duck, I tried to zoom in and make it better visible but my camera is to bad for the teeny tiny hallmark… what does the swan hallmark say about the medal?? best regards a l e x

Emmanuel thank you very much for sharing your medal and knowledge Mine is a bit lighter; 102gr but also 92x95mm. AND there is a hallmark as well, I tried to take a picture of it… does this maybe say something about the manufacture-time or manufacturer?? do you also have a case for your medal? cheers a l e x