Senior Border Guard and Mission Badges

[tashkentski]

Here are a set of pinbacks awarded for 100, 300 and 500 border postings.
Aluminium

[otlichnik]

Perhaps "times on duty" is a better translation. Nice and not tooo easy to find badges.

The KSAPO at the bottom is for Red Banner Central Asian Border Guard Dictrict and you can see that the border post marker points to the district. I have others from other areas and the marker points to a different part of the USSR.

Shawn

[Alexander Wolf]

I´m not sure about this one, any ideas?

[Taz]

Alex,
it's a Senior Border Guard badge ("starshii pogrannaryada")
variation 2.

This badge was established in 1973 and was worn by the head of a Border Guard patrol, the most experienced soldier or NCO of the group. It is thus a type of "duty officer" or "duty soldier" badge. The soldier wearing the badge had the power to stop and search people in the border zone and to make arrests if necessary.

There are two Variations of this badge. Both are very similar and only differ in enamel details. The two badges are made of one piece of 2mm thick stamped aluminium and have high quality cold enamel. They are 48mm x 35mm. The reverse is flat, not contoured, with a starburst patter and a small maker's mark. The maker's mark, which also appears on the screw-nut, is roughly an upside down five pointed star. However, the bottom point is missing and there is a square indentation set into the star from the bottom (like a small doorway). This may be the mark of the Moscow based "podeba" (victory) factory. The badges are screwback. A 2mm diameter brass screwpost is attached to the reverse where it fits into a small nipple which is part of the aluminium badge body. The standard screw-nut is brass, 18mm diameter, and has the maker's mark and four raised squares on it.

The badges are in the form of the standard KGB shield with indented upper corners and a "rivited" rim. There is a small star at the top with a hammer & sickle in it. The centre of the shield has a border guard, in M69 parade tunic and furazhka peaked hat, facing (badge) left and holding an AK-47 rifle. Over his left shoulder is a "zastava" border post with "gerb" coat-of-arms visible. Behind him is a map of the USSR. On the shield rim is "starshii pogrannaryada" which means literally "senior border guard". Both Variations have red enamel on the star, upper portion of the "zastava", and map of the USSR. Both variations have green enamel on the lower portion of the "zastava".

The Variation 1 badge has green enamel on the shield rim and white enamel on the shield background. The border guard remains bare aluminium. The Variation 2 badge has no enamel on the shield rim or background though it does have the standard enamel discussed in the paragraph above. The entire obverse of the Variation 2 badge is covered in a glossy transparent grey-black varnish.

The reason for the existance of the two Variations is not known. They may be 1st and 2nd class based on the amount of training the guard has or their rank (i.e. privates, sergeants, warrant officers, ??) or they may date from different periods.

(CO Shawn)



Eddie.

[Alexander Wolf]

Originally Posted by Taz

...This badge was established in 1973 and was worn by the head of a Border Guard patrol, the most experienced soldier or NCO of the group. It is thus a type of "duty officer" or "duty soldier" badge. The soldier wearing the badge had the power to stop and search people in the border zone and to make arrests if necessary...

So it was worn with the combatdress?

[Dolf]

Alexei,

I know and have seen pics (including in your site) of a Badge similar to this one I'm posting, but this one has different colors, the white and the green, where the other is kind of silver.

Is it a different Type, Class, Variation? Is it more expensive than the other? Rarer?

Thanks a lot,

Dolf

[Nota Bene]

Dolf,

These were made in huge numbers, including by local factories, so variations like this are quite common. The only unusual piece in this serie I have seen was without the badge on the sodier's tunic.

Alexei

Originally Posted by Dolf

Alexei,

I know and have seen pics (including in your site) of a Badge similar to this one I'm posting, but this one has different colors, the white and the green, where the other is kind of silver.

Is it a different Type, Class, Variation? Is it more expensive than the other? Rarer?

Thanks a lot,

Dolf

[centaur32]

Hi Fellow Collectors,

I will be most grateful if any of you can please explain to me the significance of the color variations of the Frontier Guards "Leader" Badges pictured below and, if possible, refer me to a reference for these badges, either in English or Russian. Thanks guys.

Cheers,

Jim

[Greg Collins]

A couple of other official Border Guard badges... first, a Senior Border Guard badge. This particular badge is from the Pobeda factory although the tightening wheel is LMD. I believe there are at least three variations of this gizmo.

[Greg Collins]

This next badge is a "mission" badge; 300 missions to be exact. All mission badges I have seen (100, 300 and 500) are for the KSAPO or Red Banner Middle Asian Boarder Guards Region, so I don't know exactly how "official" this badge is. Light alloy and paint; no mark on the back although I have seen some examples with a short row of stars near the pin.