Silver gilt; measures 55.0 x 39.8 mm; weighs 28.2 g without the wing nut. The double-headed eagle and the civil engineering emblem under its feet are separate parts superimposed on the wreath. All parts are gold-plated. The beautifully sculptured ensemble shows enormous attention to detail by its craftsman, including fully discernable provincial coats of arms on the double-headed eagle emblem, veins of the leaves, feathers of the eagle etc.

On the obverse, there is a maker mark ГФ ("GF") of an unknown jeweler struck on the left swallow-tail end of the scroll. Near the right end of the scroll, there is an "84" silver hallmark with Kokoshnik facing left and Cyrillic initials AP ("AR") of the St. Petersburg assay inspector Aleksandr Romanov who occupied the position from 1904-08.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The details are completely unaffected by wear or cleaning; even the highest points of the crown and state emblem are essentially pristine and exceptionally crisp. All parts of the badge are tightly attached. The original gilt finish is clearly visible in recessed areas throughout, including the wreath, eagle, engineer's emblem, and reverse of the badge. The screw post is of full length, approx. 20 mm. The badge comes with an unmarked silver wing nut which may be of the period and fits the screw well, although it is probably not original to the badge.

The badge was introduced in 1878 exclusively for engineers who had finished a special course at the Construction (Civil Engineers) School in St. Petersburg. In 1882, the school was elevated in status to become an Institute - i.e., a higher education establishment - and became known as the Institute of Civil Engineers. Interestingly, not all of its graduates could wear the badge: this right was reserved only to those who had attained the X civilian rank of Collegian Secretary (Kollezhskiy Asessor) according to the Russian civil service hierarchy, whereas some others graduated the school having a lower XI rank. This graduation badge is more scarce than those of many other contemporary schools e.g. universities and medical schools.

/Badges of Russia, Vol. 1 by Patrikeev, Bojonovich, p. 103 fig. 2.5/

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