Order of the Auspicious Clouds

[drclaw]

Have had these for a little while but haven't put them up.

I've been trying to improve my photography (a muppet without opposable thumbs could take better photos ...).

Also having too much fun seeing what others have posted. Everything from ladies' Red Cross merit medals, to Rising Suns in leather cases and stunning Commemorative medals!

Well, here they are. A Third and Fourth Class Auspicious Clouds.

Thank you to Richard LaTondre and Dieter who ran their eyes over the Third Class for me before I picked it up. It looks even better in the flesh than what the photos on YJA suggested.

[drclaw]

And their cases.

[Brian Wolfe]

Very nice additions to your collection.

Regards

Brian

Edited April 15, 2011 by Brian Wolfe

[Markus]

Wow Gavin thanks for posting! They are in incredible shape for their age. The design and power of these medals blows me away!

One of my favorite Japanese medals for sure.

Markus

[Dieter3]

I've been waiting to see them posted.....and they are fabulous!!

Your pics of those cases are far better than the Y!JA ones!

[Josef Rietveld]

Beautifull, thanks for sharing.

I guess a cased 3rd Class Auspicious Clouds is hard to come by. How long did it took you to get one?

josef

[drclaw]

Hi Josef,

The 3rd Class was advertised on YJA as a 'Buy it now' price where it sat for a number of weeks.

I probably paid more than I should (given no one bought it except me!) but I've not seen one since.

In the last 2 months, I've seen two cased 4th Classes come up for sale, both on YJA. And no cased 5th or 6th classes. Certainly none on ebay or any of the more popular dealer sites.

Dieter is the Oracle when it comes to keeping watch on these things so he might be able to comment. He's refrained from putting my purchases on the 'Unbelievable!' thread

Good luck if you are hunting for one.

Gavin

[Dieter3]

Hi Josef,

The 3rd Class was advertised on YJA as a 'Buy it now' price where it sat for a number of weeks.

I probably paid more than I should (given no one bought it except me!) but I've not seen one since.

In the last 2 months, I've seen two cased 4th Classes come up for sale, both on YJA. And no cased 5th or 6th classes. Certainly none on ebay or any of the more popular dealer sites.

Dieter is the Oracle when it comes to keeping watch on these things so he might be able to comment. He's refrained from putting my purchases on the 'Unbelievable!' thread

Good luck if you are hunting for one.

Gavin

Indeed these simply do not show up that often on the two primary sites - eBay and Y!JA - by far the most common are the 8th class and 6th class, but even these don't show up often with their cases and rosettes, let alone in nice condition. 4th class and higher - these are quite scarce by observation. Gavin, looking back at the very few data points I have on the 3rd class - I'd say you actually did well with that BIN price, especially given the condition! Yes, they've gone for less, but also in lesser quality (and no box for the rosette - which in my opinion is uber-cool!). The 4th, a little on the high end, but again for the quality - I still think this was a reasonable price for sure. You SCORED! No doubt about it. The one thing we all know for sure? THEY ARE YOURS! And that is what matters in the end. If you are happy with them, then price becomes very secondary if you ask me! - These do not qualify for "UNBELIEVABLE!" !!!

What I might cast into that category were 2 examples from last year - a 3rd class, medal and neck ribbon only - went for more than $2100.00 US (one of the very few to make it to ePay) and a 6th class - Medallion only, not even a ribbon, no case, nada - around $450.00.

To give you some idea, in the year period from mid-2009 to mid-2010, I observed a total of 7 x 3rd Class awards, and only 4 of those were complete with cases and rosettes. There were 4 x 4th class awards, only ONE with it's original case and rosette. There was a single occurrence of a 2nd Class award with a case, no rosette, and a single, and complete 1st class set that went for > 1,000,000 yen. NONE of these was on eBay.

Data for 2010-2011 will be forthcoming, if I can get my lazy butt to organize all the data! :whistle:

Edited April 17, 2011 by Dieter3

[drclaw]

Heh heh, thanks Dieter!

Yes, I haven't regretted buying these. And the joy of possessing them has continued long after the initial heart attack of the credit card bill has faded.

I haven't seen many (any) cased / complete 5ths and 6ths kicking around. And would sure like to get my hands on those. Then I'll have to mortgage my house (even more) for a 1st and 2nd ...

These Auspicious Clouds sure are rare. But the Pillars of the State are even rarer. There was a superb cased / complete 4th(?) class that ended up selling on YJA for around USD 1000.

Gavin

[Dieter3]

Remember - chant after me - "Investment, investment, investment......." :lol:

[khorgor]

oh you gotta be kidding me.

hahha thats amazing mate. what a great pick up!!!!!

I dearly hope I can see these in the flesh myself sometime :-)

[claretbaron]

it is nice. i only have one 2class