Have pretty much no clue what this is. Not even remotely certain it's a "coin" at all. I've tried searching numista, using google, looked everywhere I can think of...I'm at a loss. Anyone able to point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.
Top line reads "Meiji 21 year" which would be 1888. Bottom line reads "Japanese Red Cross Society". Gary
Now that i know what it is...i dunno. *lol* I'm a bit of a history buff, so it's interesting in that regard, but I also have no real tie to it. *heh* Let me do some more research now that i have a starting place. Cool! Thanks! Wow do i feel ignorant now! Sure made sense to me with the wings "up" like that...guess that's my aviation background showing through. Wow...awesome info, Gary. Thanks tons for this...makes for a great starting point for more research.
Follow-up: A little quick research suggests that it's nothing terribly significant or earth-shattering. It is indeed, as suggested above, a Japanese Red Cross "medal", awarded for membership in that organization. It was "awarded to those who contribute the Society with an annual donation of at least 300 Japanese yen." If complete, it would be hung on a red ribbon with blue trim, as shown here: That also explains the lighter spots at the top of mine. (if I'd paid any attention to them in the first place, I wouldn't have made the embarrassing error in the first post *lol*) The 1888 date on the back does not refer to a mint date, but rather to the year the award was established, that having occurred in June 1888. Probably its most "significant" feature is that it is struck in (sterling, according to a couple of sources) silver. More information can be found here. Much obliged to all of you folks for helping out. Seems like a nifty piece of history to hang on to....and besides, as lonewulf said...it's kinda cool, and I like it!
Ummm... 300 Yen in 1888 was exactly like $300 in 1888. Japan struck their large one yen silvers and one yen gold on a Western standard very close to US norms. So, in 1888, a cowboy made $20 a month and a worker in a factory 10 cents per hour for a 10 or 12 hour day six days a week for about the same wages. So, Y300 was serious coinage back then. This is a significant "thank you" to important contributors.
Agreed. I wasn't clear, and the fault is mine. I meant to suggest that the existence of my particular example is neither significant nor Earth-shattering. They seem to be fairly readily available at quite affordable costs, in much better and more complete condition than mine. Obviously, to have made a contribution worthy of RECEIVING one, particularly when they were first established in 1888, was, as you suggest, quite significant. So, it is probably fair to say that the medal was quite important to any who may have been awarded one, but my particular example, while interesting, lacks any real significance.
