Collecting Soviet Dirks - Considerations?

[AllThingsCCCP]

Hi,
I'm a returning member of the forum. I collect all things soviet and have just branched out into dirks. I bought the newly published book, "Soviet Dirks" and just received my first dirk from a seller on eBay (anything eBay is suspect to me). The dirk is dated 1952 and looks pretty good, not too new, but not all banged up either. You'd expect that it would be in good condition as it had no practical use.

Anyway, I have little experience with dirks and I was wondering what details I should look at to determine if it is real or not. Do all images on the scabbard mouths match for the year produced exactly, or is there some variation? Is there a way of telling if the blade really is from 1952, are there any distinctive features? The serial number on my in marked A-N024, does that indicate anything relevant or is it simply a number?

Any information at all is greatly appreciated!