IJA General sword tassel

[Alan M]

Some more !

[Alan M]

And the last

[BOB COLEMAN]

I can only agree with stegel's assesment of the item and his pictures of known original examples.

[stegel]

Thanks Bob, i'm pretty sure that we're both on the same side of the fence on this one.
All the extra pics that Alan has posted, have not made me change my opinion on this tassel, i still think it is very likely a recent reproduction.
I had a few hours spare and started to dig through my collection of assortments and found my other tassel, which i have owned for some 20yrs now, this one is in mint condition and highlights exactly what i was saying with the two grades of tassel that were available for purchase by officers.
In the two pics attached, you can see what i meant by the gold 'bullion' thread instead of the bright yellow, and also if you look at the straps, you will see the red edges on the brown side, and brown edges on the red side indicating that this is the 'better' quality of tassel that was available.
I guess that the two grades must have been available across all ranks of officers
Ern

BTW- It is also the darker gold shade in the tassel ends (instead of the ligher yellow shade) just like the other one i showed earlier

[Alan M]

Stegel , that is a fantastic tassel you have and one i would give my right arm for Well done with the great photos and thanks for your input on this subject .

[stegel]

My pleasure Alan!
I hope if enough people see the confirmed 'real' thing, then maybe not as many would get taken in by chinese fakes, and the prices on them will drop accordingly. I realise not everyone has a lazy US$1600 to gamble with, but some may pay $50 for a replica.
The fakes that are being sold nowadays have brought the prices of genuine items down quite considerably, whilst themselves fetching ridiculous prices by the uninformed and impulsive buyer.
I remember seeing these genuine tassels being sold for upwards of $2k and near the $3k mark a few years back.
So it's a buyers market for those who know what to look for.
Ern

[Chopperman]

I have also included 2 pics of Bill Rannows collection, they also appear similar to mine.

Very interesting thread . I never knew these existed.
Slight off topic here but I ran into Bill last weekend and said Hi.
didn't get to talk long. He is one very busy guy.

[Alan M]

Hi Ern , that is an interesting link you gave to Ohmura's site . As he shows the very same tassel as the original posted being the "ordinary" model and the versions you possess as being the "deluxe" model . I did not realise you could "upgrade" . I wonder if that goes for the other tassels also ? thanks for that link .