(1860) Silver Medal GW-355, The Japanese Embassy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$5,520 SP62 04-13-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This silver medal cataloged as GW-355 commemorates the Japanese Embassy of 1860, one of the most remarkable diplomatic events of the antebellum period. In 1860, Japan sent its first official diplomatic mission to the United States, arriving aboard the USS Powhatan and the Japanese vessel Kanrin Maru. The embassy, led by Ambassador Shimmi Buzen-no-Kami, traveled from Washington to New York, creating enormous public excitement and inaugurating formal diplomatic relations between the two nations. The inclusion of Washington's portrait on this medal connects the nation's founding father to a modern diplomatic achievement, implicitly arguing that American engagement with Japan fulfilled Washington's vision of the nation's growing role in world affairs. Silver was an appropriate medium for a medal commemorating such a significant diplomatic event. This piece is among the more unusual subjects within the GW medal series, documenting a specific historical event rather than a generic patriotic theme.

Rarity Notes

GW-355, silver. Japanese Embassy of 1860 commemorative. Unusual subject. Scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #897273; GW-355; Japanese Embassy, silver