In silver, with a gilded sword. Overall height of the badge including the eyelet is 35.6 mm; the crown of thorns measures 32.9 mm wide; the sword measures 50.9 mm long. Weighs 8.2 g.

This piece is one of the 5000 official "Denikin" badges made in total, 3500 of which were issued in the aftermath of the campaign (not counting post-war pieces privately made in exile). All of the official badges were in silver with a gilded sword and had a stamped serial number. There are two main types of the badge: Type 1 which has the sword soldered to the crown of thorns and Type 2 that has the sword attached by wires. Out of 5000 of the official badges made, some 1500 were Type 1 and the rest Type 2. Those that remained unissued were probably ultimately destroyed (according to one published account quoted in Rudichenko's book, some 500 pc were deliberately tossed into the Danube River during the White Army's retreat.) This means that the likely total of Type 2 badges in circulation was about 2000 pc - a tiny number considering the odds of survival for both the recipient and the badge.

In excellent condition, absolutely superb for a decoration issued during the Russian Civil War. The details are perfect and crisp; the gilt on the sword is still clearly visible. The attachment wires are perfectly sound and tight.

The First Kuban Campaign was a series of running battles fought in horrible winter conditions in the early 1918 by a handful of cadets, army officers and Cossacks against "proletarian" hordes that were vastly superior in numbers, arms and supplies. It was the true beginning of the organized resistance against the Reds, essentially the spark that ignited the Russian Civil War. Lavr Kornilov, the legendary first leader of the White Army, was killed early during the campaign while storming the city of Yekaterinodar (the capital of the Kuban Cossack Region, later renamed Krasnodar). Although the campaign failed to reach its goals, it preserved the core of the future White Army - and created a truly heroic example and inspiration for the anti-Bolshevik resistance movement throughout Russia. Based on the memoirs of General Denikin who had replaced the late Kornilov in April 1918 as Commander of the Russian Volunteer Army (later, Armed Forces of the South of Russia), the significance of this first campaign cannot be overestimated.

Please note, penny in our photo is for size reference.