Elegant antique Russian hallmarked .84 (nearly sterling) silver & vermeil 4" x 3" compact style cigarette or card case with ruby colored 'jewel' clasp and wonderful condition! Thick & heavy old Russian silver, nothing overly frilly but as classy as can be! The hallmarks in the lid and body of the piece were introduced in 1908 with a more detailed female head facing right and silver fineness expressed in zolotnik or zolotnicki inside an oval oblong cartouche. The "84" means it's in .875 silver content so 87.5% pure and just under the .925 standard for "sterling" silver. The left side was inscribed with the town/region symbol, this one showing the Delta shape for Moscow. The cyrillic silversmith mark AEW (AESh) is mostly visible but I've not had any luck in finding it amongst my reference guides so far. One of two fabulous old Russian silver cases that we've added this week, among a host of great old Napoleon III and Victorian era tobacco related treasures so, be sure to browse some while you're with us. Thanks!
Very good condition for age, etc. The pictures show it quite nicely. There are one or two small 'dings' to the exterior of the case but no larger dents, damage or repairs to note. The spring loaded upper clasp portion is strong and tight. The elastic ribbons in the inside have seen better days but are intact and, if you wish, easily replaceable. The gold plated or vermeil interior also in great shape with just some age darkened or tarnished spotting. See pictures for all measurements and weight.
