Hallmarks · By country
Russian hallmarks
Russian marks are read in two eras with 1917 between them, and the imperial kokoshnik mark narrows a piece to a nine year window by which way the woman's head is facing.
- Marking since
- seventeenth century
- Gives a year
- No
How the system works
Before 1927, fineness was expressed in zolotniks out of 96 rather than in parts per thousand. From 1899 to 1917 the kokoshnik mark, a woman's head in traditional headdress, was used nationally with an assay region letter. From 1927 the Soviet Union used metric fineness with a hammer and sickle inside a five pointed star, replaced from 1958 by a worker's head in profile facing right. Since 1994 a kokoshnik facing right has been used again.
The marks
| Mark | What it means |
|---|---|
| Kokoshnik, facing left | 1899 to 1908. |
| Kokoshnik, facing right | 1908 to 1917, and again from 1994. |
| Hammer and sickle in a star | Soviet, 1927 to 1958. |
| Worker's head facing right | Soviet, 1958 to 1991. |
The standards
| Figure or mark | Fineness and use |
|---|---|
| 84 | 875 silver in the zolotnik system. |
| 88 | 916 silver in the zolotnik system. |
| 56 | 583 gold in the zolotnik system. |
| 583 | Soviet 14 carat gold, metric, from 1927. |
| 875 | Soviet silver, metric, from 1927. |
Dating a russian piece
The kokoshnik faces left from 1899 to 1908 and right from 1908 to 1917, which splits imperial work into two nine year windows on sight. Before 1899, city marks with a date are common. Soviet work is dated by which of the three mark types it carries.
Where the marks will not give you a year, date the piece from its construction instead: the catch, the metal, the setting and the cut of the stones. That method is set out in how to date antique jewelry.
Where people go wrong
- Zolotnik conversions: 56 is 583 gold, 72 is 750 gold, 84 is 875 silver, 88 is 916 silver, 91 is about 947 silver.
- Russian marks are among the most heavily forged in the trade because of the Faberge market. Treat a spectacular attribution with corresponding suspicion.
- Finnish and Polish work of the imperial period can carry Russian marks.
Other countries
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