Enamelled silver vodka cup gold plated Soviet era pre-1959

[Tatzel Wurm]

I was given this cup in Tallinn. The assay reads 916, head-and-hammer symbol preceded by what may be a small x. However, I can't make out the maker's mark at all, the punches must have been very clogged. Can anyone guess its origin from my hopeless photo? If not, I'll try to do better :)
Many thanks for reading this!
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[Postnikov]

Hi -
a better photo of the marks would help. Without the better photos I can only guess:
The mark worker´s head with hammer facing right, left of the hammer X, right of the worker´s head 916.
This is the official mark in use from January 7th 1954 - 1958. The x stands for Vilnius (capital of Lithuania), 916 is the silver content 916/1000.

This is a guess unless you have better fotos.

Regards
Postnikov
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[Tatzel Wurm]

Hello!

Thank you for the instant reply!

The markings are so bad that I don't think they can be photographed without forensic equipment. The punching was terrible, then the silver was deep etched for gold plating, not much left to read. I sketched what I could make out:
The x may actually be z, it depends on the angle of the light. Do you know if there's a "z" assay centre near Estonia?
The remnants of a maker's mark are visible in one direction only, in its 1x2.5mm box. Perhaps the sketch reminds you of a possible candidate? If not, then perhaps my best answer is to locate an identical cup.

With best regards, "Tatzel".
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[Postnikov]

Hi -

first: it is not important where you get a piece - it is important what you can read from the marks! If you have unclear marks you have unclear answers.

The maker according to your sketch: ПФ7, an enterprise in Kostroma 1961-1968, your cup was made 1967. The assay mark for Kostroma is the Greek letter beta ß, for Tallinn eta H, for Baku z.

These cups are very often seen in different designs and styles - nothing special - more for tourists from the different soviet "states". Has nothing to do with Russian silver - it is Communistic silver (quality!). Maybe in 300 years they will get some value....
That is the best I can do.

Regards
Postnikov
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[Tatzel Wurm]

Hello,

Simply brilliant, thank you. So probably I own a mint example of Soviet kitsch containing almost an ounce of silver, valuable metal converted to scrap near Moscow in 1967!

I'll keep it for 300 years and see what transpires :)
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[Postnikov]

Hi -
here are some photos, maybe you see the difference.....









Regards and happy kitsch-hunting :-)
Postnikov
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[Qrt.S]

Mind my saying, but there is something wrong in the logic here. Firstly, the assay mark, the rabota, was superseded with a new assay mark on 14th of July 1959. The new mark was the Soviet star with the hammer and sickle. How can you then have a dismissed rabota mark on an object made 1967?

Secondly, the company ПФ7 was located in Kostroma, in that case why does the assay mark show the Greek letter Khi, looks like an X, but is the Latin ”letter sound” Kh, which is the symbol for Vilinius in Lithuania? (Postnikov already mentioned that) Also the letter Kappa (K) reminds of an X. That would be Odessa, also strange? I think we can forget Odessa, but Vilnius is much closer to Tallinn than both Odessa and Kostroma.

You have indicated that there seems to be two marks to the left in the assay mark. Are you really sure? You see that is impossible, you should have one mark only. Anyway, one of the marks looks like an 8. That could be the Greek letter beta, it looks like an 8, especially if it is unclear as you mention.

Fourthly, the rabota assay mark was the first new Soviet silver assay mark as from June 1927. In the beginning the cartouche, its called “lopakti” i.e. shovel in Russia, of the assay mark indicated that the whole object weights less than 10 grams? But between 1954-1958 it change to the general assay mark for gold, silver and platinum. Your cup hardly weights less than 10 gram, which to me dates it to 1957 (Number 7 in the maker’s mark). Now we have a partly match with the assay mark (before 1959). But then we have a mismatch because the factory wasn’t founded yet. Strange???

Maybe you should take a closer look to the marks….?

These were only my personal opinions without any commitment whatsoever…

PS. Postnikov seems to tease you :-). His shown objects and your cup are not comparable at all, not even close. It’s a day and night difference….mind my saying, sorry :-)

Have a nice day
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[Tatzel Wurm]

Embarrassing, this badly stamped cup has got real expert attention! So I tried to make better photos of the marks, and looked again with a lens....

There is only one character to the left of the head, I had four in my sketch because it all depends on the viewing angle. On balance, I judge it's the remnants of either Khi or an Alpha (lower case); z is lower probability. I could not get a photo at all, although having seen it by eye it must be possible with better lens and lighting.

The maker's symbol is ПФ[splodge]. The splodge may be 3 or "e", maybe a "ja" or complete rubbish from a broken punch - you can just see that in the photos, the naked eye does no better.

The cup weighs 35g and reminiscent of Postnikov's superb final example. The enamel is hand decorated with care I wouldn't expect in a bulk product....

I start to see the fascination of your hobby, ie forensics, unfortunately Russian is a prerequisite (but I think James Bond managed without it)!
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[Postnikov]

Hi -

Qrts is right!
The cup is from Communistic Russia, time frame 1954-1958, silver content 916/1000. Townmark and maker not legible. BASTA! The rest is only speculation.

Regards and do not forget to bring it back to your high security safe!
Postnikov
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[Qrt.S]

Hi

Irrespective of Postnikov's BASTA (:-)), I have a new suggestion for the maker. Having a good look at the pictures I can tell you that it is ЛФ7 (LF7) and not ПФ7 (PF7). Now it makes sense and it is no spekulation.
It is Juvelirno-chasovaja fabrika, Leningrad 1957 (Jewellery and watch factory). We have a perfect match for all marks. Case solved.
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[Tatzel Wurm]

I am grateful to you both for resolving this, and for showing me some of the difficulties. Next on my agenda then, Russian lessons and rare books :-)
"Tatzel"
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