I want to say I see "BATT A CO E" under it, and we know there are at least two of them, so it's got me wondering why I can't find one online. My thought is it's a souvenir watch fob made for occupying forces after the war...
That’s a good thought, but all of the souvenir landing or occupation medals I’ve seen have at least some reference to Japan in their imagery and/or wording. Victory messages, maps of the Japanese islands, flags, Mt Fuji or whatever. I don’t see any such indications here beyond the “Made in Occupied Japan” statement, which was a requirement of the McKinley Tariff Act for goods imported into America.
I don’t think the ‘T in Diamond’ mark will be of much help, even if traced. It’s likely just a trademark for whoever made the medal, with a high probability that they were churning out all kinds of small metal nick-knacks for whoever wanted them. I checked to see if the mark was ever registered as a trademark in the US… but the answer was ‘no’.
I have a few other observations.
The shield has 14 heraldic charges, but I can’t make out what they are. Unless this is a fantasy piece, that number may correspond to something (number of states/provinces/divisions or something of the sort) or have some historical significance.
The supporters for the shield appear to be long-legged hoofed animals with elongated necks rearing up. No obvious sign of manes, no horns and only a suggestion of ears. Very curious... but my guess is that they're (not very good) representations of horses.
The crown type appears to be for ‘nobility/aristocracy’ (or a fantasy implying importance) rather than ‘royal/imperial’.
As a coat of arms, it doesn’t correspond to anything well-known and could be something very specifically regional (such as a town or city somewhere) or just a fantasy.
The letters below the shield could be the name/initials of an organisation, or a motto in Latin or another language that uses the Western alphabet. I can’t make them out either, but it looks to me like they’re two groups of four. Perhaps: ??TT AC??
It looks to be very cheaply made for an official military decoration, unless something dished out for some kind of general service… in which case a lot more of them should have turned up. I could believe it’s something provincial of a quasi-military nature such as for service in some other uniformed capacity, or for civilian contribution to the war effort, but the coat of arms needs to be explained.
The ‘Maltese’ cross has a very wide usage. and in a number of countries, including for things related to St. John, and for Masonic or other ‘fraternal’-type organisation purposes. I think it may be related to an organisation of that kind, or is a fantasy piece of regalia/adornment for some kind of club with pretensions of that type.
