Very Rare Antique Japanese Navy 1917 Haruna Combat Skills Award Pure Silver Sake Cup Mode

Description

Very Rare Antique Japanese Navy 1917 Haruna Combat Skills Award Pure Silver Sake Cup

This is a very rare antique Japanese navy sake cup, decorated on the front with a naval insignia and on the back are the words « Taisho 6th Year Navy Combat Skills Award ». The base of the cup has a mark for the shop and the mark « pure silver ». These were cups that were officially awarded as part of the navy’s annual tests of skills, with members of the crew who were winners for each ship receiving an award of this type. Initially they gave out cash prizes but it turned out giving cash to sailors wasn’t a great idea, so they switched to cups instead. Later in the 1930s they switched again to other kinds of awards like plaques and statues. This cup weighs 30g.

The cup comes in original wooden box, and on the box are written the name of the person who received the cup – Masuda Rokuji, with the message « Taisho 6th Year, on Warship Haruna ». The Haruna was one of the newest ship in the navy at the time, having just been commissioned in 1915 as a battlecruiser. It would of course remain active for the rest of its career as part of the IJN until it was sunk in Kure during WW2.

Condition: Excellent – some light surface scratches

Size: 2.25″ across