Some General Considerations about Japanese Orders

[Lapa]

I am slowly (but apparently surely) getting attracted to the beauty and lore of Japanese Orders. I am not exactly a novice at collecting OMDs (15+ years specializing in the Soviet jungle), but Japanese orders somewhat puzzle me.

I noticed that, very often, the differentiation between classes is made simply by the presence or absence of gilding on the award (eg: Golden Kite 7th/6th class, 5th/4th class). I hope that I won't shock veteran collectors of Japanese awards, but could it be that a lower class piece be "upgraded" to the next class up - a fairly simple process IMHO (having seen too many similar "achievements" from our Eastern European friends in the Soviet field) - for substantial financial gains? Has anyone heard of such instances, or of outright faking of Japanese orders?

Marc

[Paul L Murphy]

Marc,

I just realised Iowe you a reply to an email you sent me. My apologies, work has been far too busy recently !

Regarding the issue of fake orders, convincing fakes are seldom encountered. There are collectors copies of the high end Golden Kites (1st and 2nd class) and very basic copies of a number of orders but they do not compare with the originals. At present you can but with a lot more confidence than is the case in Soviet orders, hopefully that will continue to be the case. Despite the simple way in which a Golden Kite 7th could be upgraded by gilding, I have never seen this done (yet).

The usual caveat always applies, buy from a reliable dealer (like me )

Best regards,

Paul

[Lapa]

...The usual caveat always applies, buy from a reliable dealer (like me )

Paul,

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind

Marc