alex82

wow! there was a lot discuss when I was asleep! I will take the kite with me to work today to make some better pictures with a better camera. The Picture Richard posted looks very similar to my medal. There are also 3 deep scratches on the backside of the medal where I can see the silver shining thru. but again I will have some better photos this evening for your professional eyes. Thank you so much for your help so far a l e x

Hello Thank you so much for your help, foolishly after taking the picture I made a selection and readjusted the color of the 6th and the 7th class medal in Adobe Photoshop because the flash of my camera left some nasty looking reflections in the picture. that's the reason the gold and the silver part one the medals looks plain and constant in the Picture, in fact the kite is brighter and shinier than the shield. I try to make a better picture tomorrow in daylight (without readjusting it - sorry for that!). In my opinion it looks far from repainted because the color looks really old and by looking at it under a magnifying glass I can see a lot of small scratches and marks (probably from polishing or waring the medal) in the same length and regularity as the 7th class piece have. plus all the very very fine details specially the feathers of the bird would probably be gone after repainting along with the scratches and marks. could It be that maybe there where also different manufacturers involved in the production of the early kites? there I also the box who says "6th class golden kite medal" in old kanji, if someone repainted a 7th class medal they possibly hadn't a original 6th class case handy... a l e x

Hello Here are my Kites 7th and 6th class. so the first question is did I date them correst? I used Pauls Topic about dating the kites and I think the 7th class is WWII because of the Showa wing shape of the kite and the silver kanji on the case. the 6th class I belive to be a Meiji piece because it has one roundal more than the other one and there are also old-knaji characters on the case. so does this mean that my 6th class was manufactured between 1890 and 1911? There is also one other question, I read in Mr. Petersons Book that the 6th class medal is Golden expect the two sword hilts are silver but mine is completely golden including the sword hilts. How can that be? thank you a l e x

Don't relay to much on the color of the Pictures, light in the museum was extreme yellow and I tried to adjust that in most of the Pictures with Photoshop. The Medals looked authentic to me. Thank you for the labeling james! cheers a l e x

Hello Gentlemen Here are some Pictures of a Display in the War Museum in Seoul about the Medals and Uniform under Japanese administration. Unfortunately I lost the piece of Paper where I written down the names of the medals. Apology also for the Quality of some of the Pictures, the glass was very dirty so that my camera had a hard Time to focus on the precious pieces. However, I hope you enjoy… a l e x (Display description: The military uniforms of the Taehan Empire were adopted on 15 May 1897, under the Military Uniform Code. The subsequent Royal Decree of 22 May, established five categories – the Great Dress Uniform, the Military Uniform the Dress Uniform, the Semi-Dress Uniform and the Casual Uniform.)

and here is front- and backside of the description who came with it…

Hello Hugh Wath a nice collection! I maybe have something about TW 48, cause I bought the same medal this summer in taipei. Mine seems finer manufactured and it came with some kind of description, maybe someone with better chinese skills can make out the name and purpose for it? so here are the pictures…

Hello Richard Thank you! that brings some light in the dark! Actually, other than the previous pictures, I took this in the ARMED FORCES MUSEUM in Taipei. (http://museum.mnd.gov.tw/English/index.aspx) Thank again a l e x

Here is my favorite republic of China award… The Order of National Glory awarded to Chiang Kai-Shek The Order of National Glory is the country's highest award to military personal. To date, only five servicemen received this medal. In order to honor his contribution to the Nation in the (victory) of the Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-Shek was awarded with this Medal when he was appointed as Chairman of the Nationalist Government on October 10, 1943. He is also the first person to receive this medal. Does anyone have any record where the other 4 medals are? enjoy a l e x

Order of "Kim Khan" Vietnal, Exceptional Class Presented to CKS in January 1960

Grand Collar of Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle Presented to CKS in April 1945

the description to this medals were unfortunately just in Chinese, the one on the right must be the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. I like the design of the cases!

Order of Propitious Clouds, First Class