1874 War Medal - some rare eye candy

[Paul L Murphy]

I dug this out of the bank vault last week and took some photos. This is the 1874 War Medal. One of the rarest in the Japanese War Medal series, prices in Japan now reach close to $5,000 ! On the few occasions that it comes up for sale outside Japan it tends to sell for less than that but they only show up once every few years. Before anyone asks, this one is not for sale.

Enjoy

Edited March 2, 2008 by Paul L Murphy

[Paul R]

Congradulations Paul!! Any clues to the number awarded?

[Ed_Haynes]

Holy Grail time.

[Paul L Murphy]

Congradulations Paul!! Any clues to the number awarded?

The Japanese expedition to Formosa (as it was then called) numbered approximately 3,000 so that is the upper limit on the amount of medals awarded. Their survival rate is unknown but as Ed said, they are pretty close to the Holy Grail of Japanese war medals such is their scarcity.

[Ulsterman]

ooooh- I saw one years ago for $100 or so. I always liked Saigo, but it was too expensive for me even then. Oh to go back in time though.....

[Laurence Strong]

Excellent. Many thanks for showing us Paul

[Andy Harris]

Very impressive! I doubt I'll ever be able to add one of those to my collection!

Thank you for sharing the pic.

[Dieter3]

I dug this out of the bank vault last week and took some photos. This is the 1874 War Medal. One of the rarest in the Japanese War Medal series, prices in Japan now reach close to $5,000 ! On the few occasions that it comes up for sale outside Japan it tends to sell for less than that but they only show up once every few years. Before anyone asks, this one is not for sale.

Well, I'll scratch that off the 'ole list! I figured they'd be pricey. I guess given the rarity, $5000.00 isn't too bad, though shy of the Lotto, I'll not likely have a spare $5000.00!

Any idea, what was the design/material of the cases for these medals? (Assuming there was one?)

[Rich C]

Very nice, Paul. One question about the recipients, though. Were only the dispatched soldiers eligible for awards? That is, did other people associated but not dispatched with this deployment get the medal? You know, commanders stationed in Japan, wealthy civilians who may have donated funds, etc. Now that I ask that question, where can we find that kind of information about any of the war or commemorative medals? Were the qualifications stipulated in the Imperial Edicts that established the medals?

Sorry, I thought I would only ask one question...

Cheers,

Rich

[Gunjinantiques]

I dug this out of the bank vault last week and took some photos. This is the 1874 War Medal. One of the rarest in the Japanese War Medal series, prices in Japan now reach close to $5,000 ! On the few occasions that it comes up for sale outside Japan it tends to sell for less than that but they only show up once every few years. Before anyone asks, this one is not for sale.

Enjoy

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2008/post-1487-1204495546.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2008/post-1487-1204495553.jpg

$5000? Heck, I've got 10 of those medals laying around. $10 each! JUST KIDDING. ;)

[Paul L Murphy]

Very nice, Paul. One question about the recipients, though. Were only the dispatched soldiers eligible for awards? That is, did other people associated but not dispatched with this deployment get the medal? You know, commanders stationed in Japan, wealthy civilians who may have donated funds, etc. Now that I ask that question, where can we find that kind of information about any of the war or commemorative medals? Were the qualifications stipulated in the Imperial Edicts that established the medals?

Sorry, I thought I would only ask one question...

Cheers,

Rich

I need to double check to see if the exact qualification requirements are in the edicts but I think they are. The qualification varied for each medal but for the war medals it was normally only those who actually served in the campaign or else played a central part in the planning or HQ control of the operation. Civilians who donated funds etc were not eligible. For some medals such as the Russian Japanese War Medal it was also awarded to Red Cross members attached to the Japanese military (hospital workers etc) as well as foreign military observors and journalists attached to the Japanese military during the conflict.

[Paul L Murphy]

$5000? Heck, I've got 10 of those medals laying around. $10 each! JUST KIDDING.

Oh no you don`t

Joking aside, have you seen any of these for sale recently in Japan and if so what was the asking price ? I am not sure if the present economic woes are helping to push down prices on the rare items like this.

[Gunjinantiques]

Oh no you don`t

Joking aside, have you seen any of these for sale recently in Japan and if so what was the asking price ? I am not sure if the present economic woes are helping to push down prices on the rare items like this.

No, I haven't seen one. Ever. But I can tell you other rare medals are still go for as much, if not more now. So, if the last time you saw that going for the $5000 range, you can be sure it's more than that now. It's like Japanese art in the 1980s, the Japanese are finally starting to catch on that they have some "neat" stuff worth collecting.