Royal Numismatic Society Presents Its 2023 Medal to Prof. Shin'ichi Sakuraki
The Royal Numismatic Society announced on January 22, 2024, that it had awarded its medal for 2023 to Prof. Shin'ichi Sakuraki. Martin Allen presented the medal to Prof. Sakuraki at the December meeting, held at the Society of Antiquaries, during his visit to the U.K.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body of the article previously headlined "Sakuraki Medal Win Signals East Asian Numismatic Market Revaluation" to match the source, a notice from The Royal Numismatic Society. We removed unsupported claims about the professor's research, a book title, a database project and his students, statements that his research moves coin prices, and paragraphs on investment, grading services and market outlook, and we corrected the misattribution of the medal to the Society of Antiquaries (it is the Royal Numismatic Society's medal; the Society of Antiquaries was the venue) and the source name. Because the source gives the professor's name only in Latin letters, the Japanese edition now writes it in katakana and Latin letters instead of kanji.
This article is based on a notice published on the website of The Royal Numismatic Society on January 22, 2024.
The Royal Numismatic Society has awarded its medal for 2023 to Prof. Shin'ichi Sakuraki. The society said it was "very pleased to award the society's medal to Prof. Sakuraki when he visited the U.K. in December."
Martin Allen presented the medal to Prof. Sakuraki at the December meeting, held at the Society of Antiquaries.
Acceptance speech
Prof. Sakuraki provided a copy of his acceptance speech, which the society published on its website.
"It is a great honour for me, as a Japanese, to receive the Royal Numismatic Society medal for 2023, and I would humbly like to express my deep gratitude," he said. He recalled that when he first received the email informing him of the award, he wondered for a moment if it was a practical joke. He called the award "the most wonderful thing that has happened to me in my forty or so years as a researcher."
He said that the past winners are all famous numismatists, which led him to doubt "whether a humble historian of Japanese coinage belongs among them." He added that the award would stimulate him to further endeavours and that in that spirit he was very happy to accept it.
He also said his wife often teases him: "You may be studying money, but you don't actually make much!" He said he hoped his domestic reputation would be enhanced when he returned with the medal, and he thanked all those who took part in the decision.
Source: The Royal Numismatic Society, "Prof. Shin'ichi Sakuraki awarded society's medal for 2023!" (January 22, 2024).
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