Any Idea What This Might Be? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,704
Don Kephart New Member United States 2 Posts	Posted 04/09/2015 4:01 pm Greetings! I'd appreciate your help in identifying this coin... Thanks for your help! Don Report this Post to the Staff

Petrus Pillar of the Community Belgium 2895 Posts	Posted 04/09/2015 4:48 pm Looks chinese/japanese but I can not read it. the number is not a date (I think) because there is no era that could make sense. Report this Post to the Staff
january1may Pillar of the Community Russian Federation 5172 Posts	Posted 04/09/2015 6:45 pm That's some ludicrously archaic Chinese writing (no, I can't read it either). I suspect it's a medal of some kind, but it's hard to say. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16826 Posts	Posted 04/09/2015 10:52 pm I suspect it is actually from Japan, and that "2585" is indeed a date, in the Japanese Imperial Era (Koki) calendar (which would convert to AD 1925). These guys have several pre-WWII Japanese medals for sale, most of which have the same archaic "seal script" and some are also dated using the Koki calendar. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
publius Pillar of the Community United States 807 Posts	Posted 04/10/2015 02:57 am It's not Japanese, at least, not exactly. In the year 2585 of the (little-used) Japanese Imperial Era calendar, Korea was a part of the Japanese Empire, and this medal is clearly from Korea — the first two characters of the horizontal line, reading from the right, say "Cho-sen", which is the name used at that time. In full, it says "Chosen taiiku kyokai" or "Korean Physical Education Cooperative Association". (The script is not nearly as contorted as some examples I've seen.) The other inscription is "Chosen Jingu kyogi taikai", or "Korea-shrine sports convention". The Chosen Jingu was the Imperial Shrine on Mount Namsan in Seoul (now demolished and replaced by a memorial to the man who assassinated Prince Ito), and is indicated by the "torii" gate and "shinmei-zukuri" roofs on the uninscribed side. It is very common for the premises of Shinto shrines to be used for athletic meets ; indeed, the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo was the principal site for the 1964 Olympics, and hosts the famous Koshien or high-school baseball tournament every year. This event was probably held in honour of the completion of the shrine in 1925. I don't mind admitting, I like this piece, & kind of wish I had one. Report this Post to the Staff
Don Kephart New Member United States 2 Posts	Posted 04/12/2015 05:07 am Thank you, Publius! Your comments were a breakthrough for me regarding the origin of this coin. A follow-on search led me to this: http://populargusts.blogspot.com/20...ory-and.html When I saw the pictures and how they linked to this coin, it was amazing. I really knew nothing of the history behind this era. I received an email from the author of the blog and he said, "Thank you for the link to the medal - interesting stuff. I really can't add a whole lot beyond what's in that post of mine, other than one tidbit - that shinto shrine was made of wood that had been used in the main shinto shrine in Tokyo - apparently in Tokyo they repeatedly build, disassemble and rebuilt the main shrine and use the previously used wood in shrines throughout the land. I'm not sure what happened to the shrine building after Japan was defeated in WWII; a lot of shrines and Japanese buildings (over 100) were destroyed between August 15 and September 9 1945 (when US troops arrived to occupy the south of Korea), but the main shrine doesn't seem to have been one of them, and I think may have housed Japanese refugees on their way back to Japan. At a guess, the US military may have allowed the shrine building - sacred as it is - to be disassembled and taken back to Japan." Thanks again, Publius. Best wishes, Don Report this Post to the Staff
publius Pillar of the Community United States 807 Posts	Posted 04/12/2015 3:03 pm Glad to have been of assistance! Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,704

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