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| Creation date: |
March 31, 1906 (according to imperial Edict #51) |
WWII Japanese Army 1904-5 Russian Medal
GENERAL HISTORY
When Russia moved into Korea and occupied Manchuria, the Japanese government reacted by attacking Russian warships at Chemulpo
and Port Arthur (February 8th, 1904). The Japanese Navy blockaded Russia's Asiatic ports. In addition, ground troops drove the
Russians out of Korea while another Japanese Army fought its way up the Liaotung peninsula.
On May 27th and 28th 1905, Admiral Togo destroyed the Russian Baltic fleet in two separate engagements in the straits of Tsushima.
The United States got involved and manage to settle a truce ending with Japan recieving half of Sakhalin, bases in Liaotung and recognition
of Japan's rights in Korea.
SPECIFIC DETAILS
The medal consists of 30 mm of lighr gilded bronze. the front bears the Navy and Army flags, crossed, with the Crysanthemum crest above
and the Pawlonia crest below. The back of the medal has a Japanese shield inscribed vertically with small characters that read "Meiji 37-8
years war". Te shield lies within a wreath of a palm branch (left) and a laural branch (right).
The suspender has a swivel and the attached bar has the four chacters that read "War medal". The ribbon measures 37 mm in watered silk blue with
a 9 mm dark blue center (to represent naval victories) and 3 mm black edges.
The case is made from wood with a red velvet interior, bearing gold characters.
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This page is a recognition and identification guide for Japanese WWII medals.
Multiple detailed photos of a specific sample are provided. Descriptions point
out specific points that should be noted.
One of the most commonly asked questions is "How much is my Japanese medal worth?".
A price guide is included here to address this question. The value of the WWII gear is
reviewed over a period of several years. A trend can be observed. The present worth
of the items in the collector's market is illustrated.
This service is provided free of charge to the visitor/enthusiast courtesy of
MilitaryItems.com,
a company dedicated
to the preservation of military history and to providing quality military antiques and
collectibles to museums, institutions and the general public.
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Many WWII Japanese medals are currently
reproduced.
It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because
the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with
the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this item.
Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of
the collectible.
If you have an interest is seeing other WWII Japanese items, you can do so by going
to our WWII Japanese Collectibles
identification guide, where we discussed items from different groups and organizations.
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Click on the sword for additional details !
