Honored State Security Employee badge, Variation 1, #397, circa late 1950s.
Silver-plated brass, gilt and enamel; 47.9 mm x 26.3 mm; weighs 9.6 g without the screw plate. Two-piece construction. This is the first version of the Honored KGB badge, featuring the star soldered directly to the shield, without rivets or wires as on the later versions. There is the logo of the Moscow Mint "MMD" on the reverse near the bottom.
Excellent condition. The enamel and details are perfect. The badge is completely free of wear visible to the naked eye and has only a few microscopic contact marks. The gilt on the star and the hilt of the sword is extremely well-pre
Silver-plated brass, gilt and enamel; 47.9 mm x 26.3 mm; weighs 9.6 g without the screw plate. Two-piece construction. This is the first version of the Honored KGB badge, featuring the star soldered directly to the shield, without rivets or wires as on the later versions. There is the logo of the Moscow Mint "MMD" on the reverse near the bottom.
Excellent condition. The enamel and details are perfect. The badge is completely free of wear visible to the naked eye and has only a few microscopic contact marks. The gilt on the star and the hilt of the sword is extremely well-preserved and bright. The toning to the silver- plated parts is attractive and even. The screw post is of full length, over 9 mm, and includes an original mint-marked screw plate.
This badge was the highest award to State Security officers, issued only to a very few for outstanding achievements. Its first version is particularly scarce: although its serial numbers go as high as 907 (the highest observed to date), there were fewer than 900 specimens made, judging by the fact that the serial number ranges for the first and second version overlap. The serial number of this particular specimen is quite low even for a Variation 1, so the badge is clearly among the very first issued after the institution of this award in 1957. The KGB archives containing serial numbers of the badges and names of the recipients may become declassified and published someday, so this piece has a tremendous research potential.
/Sysolyatin, Soviet Badges, Volume 2: Law Enforcement Agencies , pp. 29, 30 /
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