Medal of Honor Golden and Silver Bars for Additional Awards/飾版褒章

Additional awards of the same Medal of Honor are represented by additional narrower silver bars, each engraved with the date of the award.
For the sixth award an ornamental gold bar (made in gilded silver) without engraving is given in exchange for the last five silver bars that were awarded.
The date of each if these five silver bars is engraved on the reverse of the medal.
Golden bar was officially introduced on February 1, 1927 by the Imperial Edict No.6.

Original rescript (signed by Emperor Hirohito on January 31, 1927).

Original line drawings.

Line drawings from the current regulation introduced on May 1, 2003.

Golden medal bar made by japanese Mint after 2003.

 

Example of early golden bar from personal collection.
Issued on October 28, 1940 and marked with M.

Engraved dates of five silver bars that were exchanged for the golden one.

昭和三年十二月二十七日 - December 27, 1928
昭和五年二月十八日 - February 18, 1930
昭和八年十一月二十八日 - November 28, 1933
昭和十一年十二月二十三日 - December 23, 1936
昭和十五年十月二十八日 - October 28, 1940

Reverse of the golden bar.

Mark M.

 

Golden bar from Heisei era.
Issued on October 30, 1991 marked LH.
Photo courtesy of the owner.

Engraved dates of five silver bars that were exchanged for the golden one.

29th August 1990
27th February 1991
29th May 1991
28th September 1991
30th October 1991

Original medal issued on February 24, 1990.

Marked DB.

Golden bar mark LH.

 

Specimen with four golden medal bars!

Original medal was issued on February 20, 1957.
First golden bar awarded on May 30, 1973.
Second on March 29, 1975.
Third on October 29, 1975.
Forth on June 29, 1977

Dates of "intermediate" silver bars are not engraved.
Instead after the date of every golden bar phrase 外四回 - four times in addition.

Original case (note silver kanji on the lid).

 

Original medal was awarded on September 12, 1962.

Engraved dates of five silver bars that were exchanged for the golden one.

October 25, 1962
August 30, 1963
December 9, 1964
October 30, 1965
October 30, 1966

 

Original medal issued on October 29, 1986.

Golden bar was issued ten years later on September 28, 1996.

Both bars marked with CL (October 29, 1986) and FJ (September 28, 1996).

Engraved dates of five silver bars that were exchanged for the golden one.

September 28, 1991
November 27, 1993
August 31, 1994
May 31, 1995
September 28, 1996

Original case.

 

First bar (i.e. original medal) was issued on April 6, 1943. Marked M.
Second bar on July 18, 1955.
Third on June 5, 1956.
Forth on May 31, 1958.

Original case.

Bow rosette.

 

Two cased silver bars issued in the 1970s.

March 24, 1971

November 27, 1976

 

February 2, 1940 marked M.
January 14, 1942 marked M.
April 28, 1944.
March 31, 1944.

 

Silver bar from 2020 https://asiamedals.info/threads/two...se-orders-and-medals.13720/page-4#post-355174

 

Medal with five bars.

First medal was awarded on May 28, 1988.
Last medal bar was received on January 31, 2001.
Golden bar was issued on March 31, 1999.

 

Two-letter and letter-digit Marks on Japanese Orders and Medals

VC - December 25, 2002

asiamedals.info

 

Medal was awarded on August 26, 1964. Second medal (i.e. bar) was issued on September 16, 1964.

 

One silver bar short of the gold one.

First bar (i.e. original medal) was issued on December 25, 1991.
Second bar on February 22, 1993.
Third on February 27, 1993.
Forth on April 29, 1995.
Fifth on May 29, 1996.