Cross of Saint George - authentic?

[KG201]

I picked this up in Kiev about twenty years ago, and I've never been certain of its authenticity.

 

Reading forum posts didn't help me decide one way or the other, so I would love an opinion from actual experts.

 

The number on the back is rather high (699,933), indicating to me that this would have been from WW1.

 

If authentic, is there a good resource for looking into the recipient?

 

 

 

[Alex .]

The images are small and dark, so it's hard to tell, but most likely it's authentic. The recipient is:

 

LAKUST Nikifor Nikolaevich (ЛАКУСТ Никифор Николаевич)- 6th regiment, 2nd company, rifleman. For that in the battle on May 25, 1916 near the village of Poddubtsy, he volunteered to make a reconnaissance of the location of enemy trenches and artillery. Produced it under actual enemy fire, with courage and self-sacrifice, and delivered important information about the enemy.

 

[KG201]

2 hours ago, Alex . said:

The images are small and dark, so it's hard to tell, but most likely it's authentic. The recipient is:

 

LAKUST Nikifor Nikolaevich (ЛАКУСТ Никифор Николаевич)

 

Thank you so much for your help!

So, I searched that name, and immediately found two copies for sale bearing the 699,933 number. Not a good sign, as it makes me think this is a common number used on counterfeits.

 

https://agora.kz/en/offer/georgievskij_krest_4_stepeni_s_opredeleniem_chastnik_ves_7_08_gm_rare_smotrite_vse_loty-i237437566878675.html#1

 

https://agora.kz/en/offer/georgievskij_krest_4_stepeni_s_opredeleniem_chastnik_ves_7_08_gm_rare_smotrite_vse_loty-i237437566878675.html#5

 

Some additional details: Weight = 9.66 g, Length = 34-35 mm

 

I also took a few pictures through a loupe. Tough to get good focus, but maybe these will help.

 

 

[Alex .]

I found another copy with this number:

 

https://sammler.ru/index.php?/topic/197653-крест-№699933/

 

All these copies are very easy to identify as a copies, but your cross still puzzles me. Can you make pictures of the sides? Something like this:

 

 

[Wat05]

Would be sadly a copy. But quite a saviour that copies made in the 100s to however many, often have the same number. Makes it much easier to rule out the bad apples.

[KG201]

21 hours ago, Alex . said:

Can you make pictures of the sides?

 

 

Yes, all of the copies I've seen look rather bad to me, and I don't see anything obviously wrong with this one.

 

Pictures below.

 

By the way, I used a couple of relatively weak magnets on the cross and there was not even a hint of attraction, which is consistent with it being silver. The magnets were strong enough to attach to other household metals. I have no powerful rare earth magnets on hand to see if there is any attraction at all, however.

 

 

12 hours ago, Wat05 said:

Would be sadly a copy. But quite a saviour that copies made in the 100s to however many, often have the same number. Makes it much easier to rule out the bad apples.

 

Is that judgment solely based on the fact that many copies have this number, or do you see anything wrong with the cross itself?

 

Of course, I strongly doubt the authenticity of this cross at this point. However, I'd like to determine its authenticity definitively on the basis of its qualities, if possible. There was at one point a genuine 699933. I recognize the odds are quite low that it's this one, but I'd like to know for sure.

 

Edited December 8 by KG201
duplicated quoted text and response

[Wat05]

It is mostly due to the high amount of copies, yes. If it is the original that started it all, then it will be impressive. Fingers crossed!

[Alex .]

Looks original to me. Could you also make a good picture of this particular area?

[KG201]

 

21 minutes ago, Alex . said:

Looks original to me. Could you also make a good picture of this particular area?

 

Interesting. Are these sufficient? Struggling to get good focus through the loupe. I need a dedicated phone attachment. Again, I really appreciate your help with this. It's outside of my area of expertise.

40 minutes ago, Wat05 said:

It is mostly due to the high amount of copies, yes. If it is the original that started it all, then it will be impressive. Fingers crossed!

It sure does feel like exceptionally remote odds. I've had this since 2004, so maybe this is from an earlier and better generation of copies, and the ones that are being posted now are copies of those copies.

[Alex .]

I think, it's original cross. 

[ChrisKelly]

What little I've learned, I think it's nearly impossible to determine.  These crosses were indeed widely awarded, but the various types and sheer volume of variants is mind-shattering.  The original crosses are hot sellers with high-end price tags, primarily because they're struck from solid gold and silver.  As is always the situation, the accuracy of fakes, as the Russians and East Europeans are known for being masters of deception, is phenomenal.

 

This may help...

 

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/303920-cross-of-st-george-russia-3rd-class-genuine/

 

Edited December 11 by ChrisKelly

[KG201]

On 08/12/2024 at 11:14, Alex . said:

I think, it's original cross. 

That is encouraging. Can you elaborate a little bit on what you were looking for in the pictures and why you think it is legitimate?

 

On 10/12/2024 at 21:47, ChrisKelly said:

What little I've learned, I think it's nearly impossible to determine.  These crosses were indeed widely awarded, but the various types and sheer volume of variants is mind-shattering.  The original crosses are hot sellers with high-end price tags, primarily because they're struck from solid gold and silver.  As is always the situation, the accuracy of fakes, as the Russians and East Europeans are known for being masters of deception, is phenomenal.

 

This may help...

 

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/303920-cross-of-st-george-russia-3rd-class-genuine/

 

 

Yeah, that's my concern. If this is fake, though, it looks very convincing to me compared to other identified copies such as those in that link.

 

Maybe the only way to be sure is to determine if it is actually made of silver? I assume using silver would make forgeries no longer cost effective to produce. I don't know how feasible it is to test. If these medals used alloys then I expect this would get more complicated or completely impractical.