In magnetic steel with silver plating and enamel. The pendant measures 23.6 x 28.6 mm.

In very fine condition. The enamel is well preserved, having only microscopic flaking around the letters and the edges - much less than is usually the case with the early Soviet badges made of steel rather than brass or silver. Raised lettering is well preserved and most of the silver plating on the obverse of the pendant is present. The silver finish on the reverse is completely intact. The suspension with Stalin's profile shows moderate amount of oxidation and pitting but the features of the portrait are still well defined. The screw plate is a replacement.

An interesting early award from the period immediately following the forced collectivization and widespread famine. Note the portrait of very young Stalin as compared with the familiar "fatherly" image found on most other Soviet badges of the late 1930s through early post-war era.

/"Avers 8", p. 87, fig. 490/