Cheka V & OGPU XV hallmarks

[vatjan]

I've seen a Cheka V & a OGPU XV badge, that were reasonably priced. Not cheap, though not too expensive either. They looked very convincing to my amateur eyes. Anyway, does anyone have close-up pictures or drawings of the maker's marks/hallmarks that we find on these badges. Are they the same as on the mongolian KGB badge? (I have one, so I can easily check)
More importantly, are these marks a way of distinguishing a fake from a real one, or not?

Thank you
Jan

[vatjan]

These are the makers' marks on the Mongolian Distinguished Employee of State Security Services badge. I know the pictures are somewhat unsharp, I will try to post better ones later. There are 3 makers' marks, the 3rd one did not come out at all on the pictures so I will not post it. As far as I can make out, it says MTX, though I'm not sure about the " T ". Could somebody compare these with the marks on the V cheka an the XV ogpu badges?

Best regards
Jan

[vatjan]

and number 2...

[vatjan]

FYI:

Former Soviet Union Sterling Silver

Though its silversmithing industry was long producing objects in great quantity and of a quality not surpassed anywhere in Europe, up until 1613 the marking of silver articles was not compulsory in Russia, and even then it was only in Moscow that it was made mandatory.

In 1700, however, Peter the Great, fresh from his extensive travels in western Europe, and bent on bringing reform to all aspects of the Russian nation, began a full-scale re-organization of the marking system. It was made compulsory for the silversmith to stamp his mark, and for the minimum gold and silver standards to be guaranteed.

By 1741, therefore, typically, a piece of silver would bear the following marks:

- the maker's mark, usually his initials, less often his full name, generally in cyrillic characters
- the city mark, at first incorporated with the date
- the assay master's mark, with the date, once it ceased to appear with the city mark
- the silver standard, expressed in parts (zolotniks) of pure silver per 96 parts of the whole; generally this would be 84 zolotniks, but could also be 88 or 91

Until 1798 this last standard mark was optional, and if it was omitted then the alderman's mark would be added, in order to guarantee the quality of the piece.

A further re-organization of the system took place in 1896, bringing in the era of the kokoshnik marks. This name derives from the fact that the mark features a female head, wearing the traditional Russian headress, the kokoshnik, originally made of stiffened cloth, which later evolved, in Court circles, into the familiar jewelled ornament, the tiara Russe.
From 1896 until 1908, the period of the first kokoshnik mark, silver articles were marked with this female head, facing to the left, with a number representing the silver standard to her left, and to her right the initials of the assay master (very tiny), all within an oval outline. The maker's mark is also found nearby, as shown below.

In 1908 the second kokoshnik mark was introduced, this time with the female head facing to the right, with a small Greek letter signifying the city of assay to the left e.g. alpha for St Petersburg, and delta for Moscow, and the silver standard to the right. This mark was used until the Revolution in 1917, and somewhat beyond, until the establishment of the full Soviet system.