Number of Awarded 1887 Yellow Medals of Honor Discovered

[fukuoka]

Unlike my last 'discovery' of the number of 1940 2600th Natl Foundation medals minted, this new proclamation of mine is much more substantial. The number of 1887 Yellow Ribbon Medals of Honor awarded are as follows:

572 silver medals and 54 gold medals. And Peterson was right when he wrote that the last medal awarded was in 1894.

(PICTURES here on my site: http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/merityellow.html)

Very low numbers for both, which justify the high prices. However, when compared with prices for the 1874 War Medal (3,677 minted), the prices seem reasonable. Silver 1887 medals sell for around 120,000 yen, but the 1874 Medal sells for much more (one example sold in Japan this week for 221,000 yen--no case). I guess context is important since war medals are more highly regarded by many collectors.

Anyone have a gold 1887 medal? I've never even seen a photo of one.

The information on this medal I got in a fantastic book I found this week. It is a history of the Medals of Honor, published in 1941. Not so much as a history but a compilation of almost every recipient of the five types of medals. (Only the Dark Blue Ribbon Medal list is incomplete.) Unbelievable resource since the names & addresses of the recipients are listed as well as some descriptions of what they did to deserve the medals. As you can imagine, it is a huge book. It may weigh as much as my 6-year-old. If anyone has a named pre-war medal, I can help find a little bit about the original owner.

Cheers, Rich

[Paul L Murphy]

Well done, that is excellent :cheers:

[Dieter3]

Unlike my last 'discovery' of the number of 1940 2600th Natl Foundation medals minted, this new proclamation of mine is much more substantial. The number of 1887 Yellow Ribbon Medals of Honor awarded are as follows:

572 silver medals and 54 gold medals. And Peterson was right when he wrote that the last medal awarded was in 1894.

(PICTURES here on my site: http://www.imperialj...erityellow.html)

Very low numbers for both, which justify the high prices. However, when compared with prices for the 1874 War Medal (3,677 minted), the prices seem reasonable. Silver 1887 medals sell for around 120,000 yen, but the 1874 Medal sells for much more (one example sold in Japan this week for 221,000 yen--no case). I guess context is important since war medals are more highly regarded by many collectors.

Anyone have a gold 1887 medal? I've never even seen a photo of one.

The information on this medal I got in a fantastic book I found this week. It is a history of the Medals of Honor, published in 1941. Not so much as a history but a compilation of almost every recipient of the five types of medals. (Only the Dark Blue Ribbon Medal list is incomplete.) Unbelievable resource since the names & addresses of the recipients are listed as well as some descriptions of what they did to deserve the medals. As you can imagine, it is a huge book. It may weigh as much as my 6-year-old. If anyone has a named pre-war medal, I can help find a little bit about the original owner.

Cheers, Rich

Excellent topic on all counts!! I can only dream of medals like this.

Did you catch the 1874 War medal today that BIN'd for 450,000? Similiar to the other, notice they both were missing hooks and catches (re-ribboned?) though today's sale had a somewhat interesting case with a little space for the ribbon bar, also included. Kinda neat, but not original me thinks.

[fukuoka]

Yeah, both ribbons looked like replacements. Just a year ago, didn't one sell for 500,000 yen? Something like that... But someone paying 200,000 yen more for a medal after another had sold just one week before is unexpected.

So, given the scarcity of the silver 1887 medal, it should sell for far more than those prices, right? But it doesn't. I imagine the gold medal would sell for about the same as the 1874 Taiwan Medal.

[Dieter3]

Yep, two 1874 war medals sold last year that I saw - one for 380,000 the other for 514,000 - again, missing the hook and catch. Both had cases, don't know if they were original though.

Your logic is certainly the same as mine - the more rare you get, the higher the price. Makes sense to me! But you earlier comment on context DOES apparently win the day! War medals must hold more appeal in general, and I must admit if I had 500,000 yen and I had a choice between the gold honor medal or the 1874 war medal - even KNOWING how rare that gold one is thanks to you, I'd still probably buy the 1874 one!

[fukuoka]

Hmmm, you'd take the 1874 Medal, really? If I'm not mistaken, the 1887 Gold Medal of Honor is a pure gold medal!

Edited August 3, 2011 by fukuoka

[Dieter3]

Hmmm, you'd take the 1874 Medal, really? If I'm not mistaken, the 1887 Gold Medal of Honor is a pure gold medal!

Well.....that might change things a bit! That I did not know, not just just plated? The medals themselves then should hold up very well to time! I'd have to seriously reconsider this choice! Not that it will ever present itself to me, but......

[fukuoka]

Yes, there were 3 other medals that also had pure gold versions: the Imperial Constitution Medal, the 25th Wedding Anniversary Medal, and the Crown Prince Visit to Korea Medal. The gold medals were given to Imperial family members, so they don't appear on the market often.

[Dieter3]

These must be among the rarest of medals!