Show Your Japanese Medal Hallmarks & Maker's Marks

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Thank you. I really appreciated your message.

 

"There are also variations with the S marked on the ball instead of the ring and variations with the Y as convex instead of concave"

Thank you, I didn't know that.

 

I have another medal with a wrapper from Kabushiki gaisha Yamazaki shōten nō, but I'm not sure of the hallmark.

 

It appears that the stamping was done improperly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

Edited April 17 by No one

[TracA]

No One,

 

Indeed, it looks like the mark on the above medal was not completely stamped. An interesting item to have in your collection. 

 

Tracy

[TracA]

I just received this lovely Order of the Sacred Treasure 6th Class, cased. On the reverse below the 6h rivet is the M mark of the Japan Mint, Osaka. The M mark is a nice, strong strike. In just the right light at just the right angle the ribbon looks to be a very, very pale blue. Otherwise, it looks to be a dirty/off white. Gold kanji grace the lid with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). Unfortunately this one did not come with a rosette. Oh well, you “can’t win ‘em all” as they say.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

M mark up close:

 

 

Finally, the case lid:

 

[TracA]

…and another Order of the Sacred Treasure with a hallmark. This is a 5th Class with 幣 (hei) on the reverse just below the 6h rivet. About the 幣 hallmark see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-on-japanese-order-who-and-when.15113/. 

No rosette with this one. The lid has gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun).

 

This is what, I believe, JapanX would refer to as “a salty specimen”. The photos below actually make it appear lighter than it really is. The ribbon is so heavily soiled that it looks brown. The silver is quite tarnished and has a dull gray look. Some dirt won’t easily come off of the white enameled rays and almost each of the red glass cabochon “jewels” is chipped/pitted and/or scratched. Nonetheless, I’m delighted to have this in my collection.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tracy

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

The 幣 (hei) hallmark up close:

 

 

…and finally, the case lid:

 

Edited April 27 by TracA
Word Change

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

It was worn, I like it. In French we will say « dans son jus* »

*(The term refers to an old item that has been preserved as it is, without being restored or cleaned)

It is a nice addition to your collection.

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

This 8th class of Order of the Pillars of State has a rosette that has the Japanese "ス" hallmark on it.

This manufacturer appears to have produced many rosettes.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

No One,

 

Very nice award. Indeed, if a rosette that I have has a hallmark on it, then it's ス.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[TracA]

I am lucky enough to have added another order with a hallmark to my collection. This is another Order of the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class, which makes the sixth 3rd Class in my collection: five for males and one for females. Out of the six orders, five of them have hallmarks. 

 

The latest addition is a four rivet reverse and below the rivet at the 6h is the hallmark N. This is the mark of the Japan Medal Manufacturing Corporation. Known dates of manufacture are, as of today, January 1929 to February 18, 1930. Of course, see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-n-on-japanese-orders-and-medals-who-and-when.14995/ for a discussion of the N hallmark in general and at https://asiamedals.info/threads/orders-of-the-sacred-treasure-with-mark-n.14999/ 

for a gallery of Sacred Treasures with the N mark.

 

It is in beautiful condition, with only a single red glass cabochon “jewel” exhibiting damage: the one at 12h. I note that the button rosette also has a mark on its underside: ス (su). The case lid has gold kanji and the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun). As a side note, the silver latch is so tarnished that it is basically black in color. 

 

I was thrilled to add this wonderful example to my collection.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse with ribbon and rosette:

 

 

Reverse, with the N just visible under the rivet at 6h:

 

 

The N hallmark up close:

 

 

The case lid:

 

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

One word: "Beautiful'!

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

 

 

[Farkas]

Hi TracA,

I can only agree with No One,

that’s a beauty,

 

congrats!

tony 🍻

[TracA]

No One and Tony,

 

Thank you!

 

Tracy

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

It’s been a few months since I’ve posted an update in this thread, but the time has come again.

 

A wonderful cased Order of the Rising Sun 8th Class with the 美 (bi) on the reverse at 6h came into my possession a few weeks ago. I already have such a medal, but the case that came with that one was, I’m pretty sure, not the case of issue. That case had silver kanji with the “Showa” stylization of 勲 (kun). I would venture to guess that the case that came with my latest acquisition is the case of issue, as the double row of gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勣 (kun) is much more appropriate temporally for a 美 marked medal. Per Medals of Asia, the 美 mark of the Shobidō workshop was known to be in use from 1900 to 1929 and cases with double rows of gold kanji were known to be in use until sometime in the 1930s.

 

I hope that you enjoy this medal.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

美 mark up close:

 

 

Case lid:

 

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Nice one. I like the Shobidō workshop hallmark,, it's my favorite.

 

Nice case too.

 

The case's kanji are highly stylized, making them hard to read if you're not familiar with them.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Thank you, No One. I especially like the stylized kanji. I find them very aesthetically pleasing.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

I have another addition to this thread. While filling some holes in my collection I purchased an Order of the Sacred Treasure 5th Class, cased, with the two phillips head screw reverse (at 9h and 3h). Upon receipt of the medal I was examining it and was delighted to discover a hallmark on the reverse of the ball: EB. 

 

Per a thread in GMIC JapanX states that two phillips head reverse Sacred Treasures are dated from 1982/83 to 2003. See 

On his website, Medals of Asia, he has a single dated entry for the EB hallmark: a Blue Ribbon of Honor dated April 29, 1984. 

 

The medal below has a beautiful very, very pale blue ribbon with the yellow stripe. Almost all of the gilding has tarnished off of the medal, the photos of which came out too dark. Finally it was very difficult to photograph the EB hallmark with my cell phone.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

Close-up of the EB hallmark:

 

 

Case lid:

 

Edited September 29 by TracA
Spacing

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Very nice! It's a beautiful order, isn't it?

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Thank you, No One. It is indeed. The OST is my favorite.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

Recently I have had a nice haul of marked orders and decorations. I am still amazed at what you can find if you do a little hunting and pay attention to photographs, and I am equally amazed at some of the prices. I guess that is partially a testament to the lack of competition for the purchase of these items. I am certainly not complaining.

 

All of my attributions and dating comes from JapanX’s Medals of Asia. See https://asiamedals.info/threads/makers-marks-of-japanese-orders-and-medals.14996/. I cannot stress enough my reliance on JapanX’s expertise and amass of information. 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

First up is a lovely cased Order of the Sacred Treasure 7th Class with a ナ (na) hallmark in the middle of the lower third of the reverse. Whomever used this hallmark was active in the first quarter of the 20th Century. It is possible that this is the mark of Namikawa Yasuyuki’s workshop. For more information on him see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-na-on-japanese-orders-and-medals-who-and-when.28707/. 

 

The button rosette bears the ス (su) mark. I note that the color of the rosette is quite different from the color of the ribbon, so I am thinking that they are a “throw together”. The case lid has a single row of gold kanji and the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勛 (kun).

 

Obverse with button rosette:

 

 

Reverse. Note the very prominent ナ (na) hallmark in the middle of the lower third of the reverse.

 

 

Case lid:

 

Edited October 20 by TracA
Spacing; capitalization

[TracA]

Next up is a lovely Order of the Sacred Treasure 4th Class with four rivet reverse. Under the 6h rivet is an M, the mark of the Japan mint at Osaka. As of today the known time coordinates for this mark is March 1930 to April 6, 1943. The case has a single row of gold kanji on the lid with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勛 (kun).

 

I note that although the color of the button rosette closely matches the color of the ribbon, the backing of the rosette is silver metal. Both the silver color of the metal and design, but not the color of the rosette itself, match those button rosettes of post 2003 Reform orders. As such I think this button rosette was simply “put together” with this order whose hallmark dates it to the 1930s and early 1940s. 

 

Tracy

 

Obverse with button rosette face on.

 

 

Reverse. Note the silver color and design of the button rosette.

 

 

Close-up of the M under the 6h rivet:

 

 

Case lid:

 

[TracA]

The third piece that I recently acquired is a wonderful Order of the Rising Sun 8th Class with the ヒ (hi) hallmark at the 6h. Known time coordinates for this mark, per Medals of Asia, is 1915 to 1929. The maker remains unknown. 

 

It came with a nice older bow style lapel “rosette” and the case lid has a double row of very stylized gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勛 (kun). I note that the kanji on this case lid are drawn in particularly thick lines. 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

Close-up of the ヒ (hi) hallmark at the 6h:

 

 

Case lid. Note the particularly thick lines.

 

[TracA]

Next up is another Order of the Rising Sun 8th Class. This one, however, has the 美 (bi) hallmark on the reverse of the ball. This is the mark of the Shobidō workshop and per Medals of Asia the known time coordinates are 1900 to 1929. Once again the case lid has a double row of gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勛 (kun). Unfortunately this one did not come with a lapel rosette or bow.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

Reverse. Note that the 美 (bi) hallmark on the reverse of the ball can be seen.

 

 

Close-up:

 

 

Case lid:

 

[TracA]

My fifth and final entry for now. I thought that I had recently acquired six marked items but alas, photos can be deceiving. What I thought was an M mintmark on the reverse ball of an Order of the Rising Sun 8th Class turned out to simply be a trick of the light in the seller’s photograph.

 

Below is a beautiful Order of the Rising Sun 7th Class with double enameling. Although it did not come with a lapel rosette or bow, it did come with the ribbon for a medal bar. On the reverse of the ball is the M mintmark of the Japan Mint, Osaka. Known time coordinates are March 1930 to April 6, 1943. The case lid has a double row of stylized gold kanji with the “Meiji/Taisho” stylization of 勛 (kun). Unfortunately it is missing the clasp that attaches to the top half of the lid.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

Close-up of the M on the reverse of the ball:

 

 

Case lid:

 

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Very nice. Your collection is becoming really impressive.

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Thank you, No One. My collection is also growing slightly out of control, or maybe just out of control. 😄

 

I am running out of space to display my collection, and if I really start picking-up my collecting of Queen's South Africa, King's South Africa, and Crimea medals, then I am really in for it.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy