Chinese war medal collectors

[Petro]

HI GUYS

      I JUST CAME ACROSS AN EXTREMELY FASCINATING MEDAL ,THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL BREAST BADGE, 40 MM, SILVER GILT, OBVERSE ENAMELED, ORIGINAL SUSPENSION RING AND RIBBON, WITH OFFICIAL TYPED AWARDING DOCUMENTS. 26 X 21 CM, AWARDED TO AN ITALIAN MINISTER AND HIS WIFE, SEALED BY THE LEGATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN ROME. EXTREMELY RARE AND INTRESTING.

http://www.ebay.ph/itm/COMMEMORATIVE-MEDAL-OF-HONOR-OF-THE-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-HONOR-MEDAL-1913-/272359864920?hash=item3f69e9ba58:g:VzoAAOSwiYFXHn7x

[Lingqi]

Hi Petro, 

Thanks for sharing, it is not common to have the original document. The medal itself is not that rare, I think the listing price is not realistic. The market in china is very soft. The people collecting medals is far less than people collecting coins and stamps. I have been collecting chinese warlord medals for over ten years and I wouldn't pay that much. Anyway, good luck to the seller. 

[Paul R]

What is a fair price for this set?  7K is a lot of money.  

[paul wood]

I would have thought $1,500 would be the maximum, shows what rogues and criminals exist on e-$scam.

Paul

[medalworld]

Hello GMIC member Lingqi,

Like you I've been a collector of Chinese medals for a while, 29 years for me. This is listed in Barac, but I've not seen one in person before this specimen. Based on the Ebay pics, may we have your opinion of genuineness please? Only price has been discussed here, but authenticity concerns me more. Paul, your thoughts too please?

The same seller has a Tsao Kun medal for sale now also at Ebay. The reverse colors seem most unusual.

Regards, Frank Draskovic

[paul wood]

Frank, from the illustration It looks good, the enamel loss on the flags is a favourable point, obviously without physically examining the piece one cannot be 100% certain but it is significantly better than the fakes being peddled by the Chinese cottage industry.

If it is a fake then I would be extremely worried about any non provenanced Chinese piece on the market but my gut feeling is it is right.

Paul

[medalworld]

Thank you Paul; your valuable comments always appreciated. In fact, I have seen this item in person and examined it closely. But as the first of this type I've seen, I cannot definitively conclude one way or another. Comparing its weight with the weight of other known originals in China and elsewhere would be helpful.

The Chinese fakers are getting better at their "craft". An experienced eye can still tell obvious fakes from six feet away, such as with the large number of strange grayish metal and weirdly colored breast stars saturating the market, but some Golden Grains and Striped Tigers have caused me to look twice before recognizing they're fakes. Those are improving and one must be very careful.

Nothing new under the sun here...where larceny can exist, it will. Buyer beware.

Regards, Frank

[Lingqi]

On 12/11/2016 at 18:17, medalworld said:

Hello GMIC member Lingqi,

Like you I've been a collector of Chinese medals for a while, 29 years for me. This is listed in Barac, but I've not seen one in person before this specimen. Based on the Ebay pics, may we have your opinion of genuineness please? Only price has been discussed here, but authenticity concerns me more. Paul, your thoughts too please?

The same seller has a Tsao Kun medal for sale now also at Ebay. The reverse colors seem most unusual.

Regards, Frank Draskovic

Hi Frank, some part of enamel seems repaired particularly the white enamel on the left hand side flag. This part looks to me thicker than the red and yellow ones above. So it could be repaired before. Apart from that, the medal itself looks authentic to me. 

 

[medalworld]

Many thanks Lingqi,

Comments appreciated.

Regards, Frank

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

I don't think "COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL OF HONOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA HONOR MEDAL, 1913" is the rigth name for this medal.

 

It's just "Commemorative Medal of the Republic of China 1913". It's what is written in French on the document.

 

 

"名譽" means, as a noun, "fame / reputation", and as an adjective, "honorary / emeritus". It seems like the latter is more likely.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one