Tuesday, June 26, 2007

RUSSIAN SILVER STANDARD MARKS (ZOLOTNIKS)

GUIDE TO THE RUSSIAN SILVER STANDARDS IN THE XIX. AND IN THE BEGINNING OF THE XX. CENTURY

The Russian silver standards in general use at the XIX. century and at the beginning of the XX. century were reckoned in zolotniks. These would show the purity of the precious metal. Metal purity was measured in zolotniks. 96 zolotniks correspond to pure silver. The most frequently found proportions for silver are 84 and 88 zolotniks. The one of the rares is the 91 zolotnik mark often help to identify objects made for export. The corresponding standards in the west are 875, 916 and 947/1000, while English sterling silver presupposes a standard of at least 925/1000. There would also be a stamp of the city or region of origin. These were in use till 1899. For St. Petersburg, the symbol was crossed anchors and for Moscow, St. George and the Dragon. In 1896, Czar Nicholas II 's reign saw a shift from localized marks to a national provenance mark, a woman wearing a kokoshnik.

Some examples for silver zolotnik marks until 1899:
russian 84 zolotnik mark for St.Petersburg - zolotnik 84 for silver with the city of St.Petersburg.
russian 88 zolotnik mark for Moscow - zolotnik 88 for silver with the city of Moscow.


Some examples for silver zolotnik marks between 1899-1908:
on these marks the kokoshnik facing left. This mark shows the head of a girl in profile, wearing the traditional Russian high headdress called kokshnik. The origin of each piece can be recognized by the assay-master's initials behind the head.

Russian 84 zolotnik mark for St.Petersburg - zolotnik 84 for silver with the assayer mark of Ivan Lebedkin (I.L.) which refers to Moscow.

- zolotnik 84 for silver with the assayer mark of Yakova Ljapunova (Ya L) or with the assayer Alexandra Vasiljevicha Romanova (AP) which refer to St.Petersburg.


Some examples for silver zolotnik marks between 1908-1926:
kokoshnik mark facing right. The head initials no longer seem engraved but appear in relief. The origin of each piece can be recognized by a Greek letter within the mark.

russian zolotnik 84 for St.Petersburg - zolotnik 84, kokshnik facing right, alfa letter for St.Petersburg. Under there is a small circular kokshnik mark is found on objects weighting less than 8.5 grams (2 zolotniks) or on separate parts.

Some greek letters for the city in the assayer mark between 1908-1926:
greek letter for St.Petersburg - St.Petersburg
greek letter for Moscow - Moscow
greek letter for Odessa - Odessa
greek letter for Kiev - Kiev


References : The Russian state marks in the XIX. century