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1860 First Japanese Embassy Medal in Bronze

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Medals

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1860 "First Japanese Embassy" Commemorative Medal

1860-Dated. Japanese Embassy Medal. Struck at the United States Mint in Bronze. Second Obverse. Engraved By Paquet. NGC graded Mint State-62 Brown.
Julian CM-23. 76mm. The 1860 Japanese Embassy Medal, celebrating the culmination of Commodore Perry's historic expedition to the East. The massive 76mm medal is 9.5mm thick, with massive high relief details and rims. It appears fully original and Uncirculated with sharp definition and a rich patina. It is marked on reverse, "In Commemoration of the First Embassy From Japan to the United States 1860." Signed on the obverse by Paquet, under the bust of President James Buchanan. A similar example sold for $2,530 in the January 2008 Stack's Americana Auction. This is a highly desirable and very historic medal, being one of only a mere 156 Struck by the United States mint.

The first Japanese embassy to the West opened in the U.S. in 1860, just months before the outbreak of the War. On February 13, 1860, the military ruler of Japan, the Shogun, sent delegates clad in traditional native gowns, to present their credentials to "his Majesty, the President of the United States," to formally open relations. The ambassadors and their staff sailed from Yokohama with 50 tons of Japanese baggage, 100,000 readily negotiable Mexican dollars, and a large supply of Japanese food. The vessel that carried them from Japan to San Francisco, their first port-of-call, was the navy frigate Powhatan, one of the steam-powered paddle-wheelers Perry had employed in "opening" Japan. The ceremony that followed at the White House inspired massive displays of patriotism and hospitality in America's major cities. This was a momentous event that propelled the Nippon State from total isolation to eventual global power.

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