Soviet KGB Badge “Honorary Employee of State Security” 1957-1991 № 397

Description: Thanks for looking! Soviet KGB Badge “Honorary Employee of State Security” 1957-1991 (#2.15 - Soviet Badges, Volume 2: Law Enforcement Agencies , by Igor Sysolyatin, 2020) Issue № 397 Height: 47.87mm Width: 26.24mm Weight w/ screwplate: 12.300g Weight w/o screwplate: 9.613g Screw post length: 9.25mm AWARD BADGE "HONORARY STATE SECURITY EMPLOYEE" 1957-1991 By order of the KGB under the CM of the USSR No. 115 of December 6, 1957, the badge of "Honorary Employee of State Security" was established to award "especially distinguished" employees of the KGB bodies. The shape and design of the new badge differed significantly from previous models. It was a slightly convex figured shield crossed vertically by a sword, in the center of the shield was a gilded five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle, framed by a ribbon covered with red enamel with the inscription "Honorary Employee of State Security". The badge was made of oxidized tombac, and not of silver, like the previous awards. The procedure for awarding the new honorary badge remained the same - by orders of the KGB under the CM of the USSR. The Regulation on the “Honorary State Security Officer” badge provided for the following privileges for those awarded: priority housing in KGB buildings, and after dismissal, the right to use departmental clinics and children's institutions of the KGB system and the right to wear a military uniform. It is noteworthy that, in accordance with the new Regulation, these benefits did not apply to those awarded with badges of previous types. The first awards took place in December 1957 in connection with the widely celebrated fortieth anniversary of the VChK-KGB. By order of the KGB under the USSR CM dated December 23, 1957, A. I. Voronin, A. P. Misyurev and A. G. Sokolov were awarded the "Honorary Employee of State Security" badge. There is a single known example when this badge was awarded to the holder of the very first honorary badge of the VChK-GPU - S. G. Uralov! By order of the KGB under the USSR CM dated December 17, 1965, he was awarded the "Honorary Employee of State Security" badge No. 2462. By 1973, when this award was received by KGB Chairman Yu. V. Andropov, the number of previously issued badges exceeded 400. Over the award’s entire existence up to 8,000 “Honorary Employee of State Security” badges were issued (the maximum known number was 7485). There are 6 known variants of these signs. I believe this piece to be a Sysolyatin type #1. Type #1 : The star is attached by soldering to the counter-relief of the middle part of the shield. The issue number is engraved on the reverse of the ribbon. The MMD stamp is at the bottom. Minimum known number: 4, maximum: 907. This is an excellent early example of a KGB state security award badge. The enamel on the ribbons is fully intact without chipping. The oxidized tombac is without scratching and the gilt on the star is fully intact and bright. The full length screw post threads are in very good condition showing little to no wear. I also believe the screw plate to be original to this piece. This badge is engraved with an early issue number and the engraving style itself is consistent with other examples. There is also a nice dark patina within the engraving lines. I’ve included an ultra violet image to show the lack of modern repairs to the enamel. Overall this is an excellent and rare piece of KGB history to add to any collection! *** Reach out to me with any and all questions you have. Please note this item will ship with tracking, and be insured. I will ship via FedEx as I trust them much more than the USPS for more valuable items such as this. *** All sales are final. Condition and authentication are “as seen”. *** This item will ship very well packed!

Price: 995 USD

Location: Post Falls, Idaho

End Time: 2024-10-12T04:10:57.000Z

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