Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

PHOTOS REQUIRED - marks + item
Post Reply
cgonzalez100
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2016 9:44 pm

Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by cgonzalez100 »

Greetings,
I would greatly appreciate your help please with this series of hallmarks on a gold pin. The pin has a French eagle mark for 750 / 18K. And a maker's mark, which I believe I have identified as Amédée Datigny, 1892, workshop located at 44 rue Saint-Augustin, Paris.
However, the final hallmark is eluding me. I believe it is a 56 zolotnik Russian mark. But why would a 56 zolotink mark be on an 18K French pin? The gold does test as 18K and not 14K. I wonder why they didn't use the 72 mark? This little pin is an enigma for me.
Image

Image
AG2012
contributor
Posts: 5576
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:47 am

Re: Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by AG2012 »

Hi,
It is really Amédée Datigny (A.D. with sward symbol), 18ct French eagle.
Cannot explain Russian 56, but the contour after the number looks like Moscow St.George.
I doubt 56 was added later to deceive, more likely inconsistent Russian assaying.
Regards
Aguest
contributor
Posts: 1599
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:26 am

Re: Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by Aguest »

Was the test performed on the shaft of the pin and the base of this pin? ::::

:::: The shaft of the pin might be a different carat from the top of the pin ::::
I found this out when I had a purse marked "14k" but I had reason to think that the mesh of the purse was 18k gold so I tested it and it was true, even though the hallmarks were "14k" there were elements of "18k" gold in the purse. ::::

The pin part might need to be stronger than the top of the pin for strength reasons because of its having to be used over and over again in hair and/or clothes. ::::
Qrt.S
contributor
Posts: 3790
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:32 am
Location: Helsinki Finland

Re: Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by Qrt.S »

The Russian 56 mark is not deceiving anything. It is quite in order! Yes, it is punched later by the Russian authorities. Please see below:

This French made pin was imported to Russia after 1882. The 56 mark is a Russian import mark, implemented in 1882. The 56 is the gold fineness mark in zolotnik, next Moscow's town mark riding St. George and the ĺast mark are the Cyrillic letters ПТ. They stand for the abbreviation of ПРИВОЗНЫХ ТОВАРОВ i.e "imported goods". This means that this pin was as said imported from France to Russia. The mark was punched in the Russian assaying office by the request of the customs. It is the lowest gold fineness allowed to be imported to Russia. It is less than 18K and there is no mark for 72 zol. (750/1000).

The French manufacturing marks are already explained.
AG2012
contributor
Posts: 5576
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:47 am

Re: Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by AG2012 »

72 was legal fineness and it can be found on jewelry made in Russia, as well as on imported 18 ct watch cases.
Even assay offices in small countries distinguished imported gold of 14 and 18 ct,and marked accordingly.
All said, this is unusual, unless, as Qrt.S stated, it was the lowest fineness allowed to import, and therefore 72 mark was not used at all.
Btw. 72 is sometimes faked on gold.
Regards
Qrt.S
contributor
Posts: 3790
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:32 am
Location: Helsinki Finland

Re: Please help with Russian 56 Mark on French Gold Pin

Post by Qrt.S »

AG2012 Please note!
We are now talking about this IMPORT mark but not about a gold fineness mark in general on a Russian made object.
To my knowledge there is no Russian 72 import mark for gold. Nothing prohibits to punch a lower fineness import mark on an object made in higher fineness. The import mark's fineness value only guarantees that the fineness is minimum legal or higher nothing else.
Marks on watch cases are a completely different story with their own marks!
BTW.
This same import mark for silver is 84 irrespective of that the fineness could be higher.
Post Reply

Return to “Gold Marks - Worldwide”