The medal is in gilded brass (tombac); measures 50.1 mm in width, 5.5 mm thick at the highest point, weighs 78.4 g. Manufactured at the Leningrad Mint, the artwork for this medal was created by medalists Akimushkina, Reznichenko and Khotinok. The number of issues is unknown, but the medal was awarded very sparingly, apparently exclusively to the Communist Party VIPs who attended the celebratory ceremonies in Moscow. The artwork and sculptured details are exquisite even for a medal of this relatively early period. The obverse shows a well-dressed young Russian man and his Ukraini

The medal is in gilded brass (tombac); measures 50.1 mm in width, 5.5 mm thick at the highest point, weighs 78.4 g. Manufactured at the Leningrad Mint, the artwork for this medal was created by medalists Akimushkina, Reznichenko and Khotinok. The number of issues is unknown, but the medal was awarded very sparingly, apparently exclusively to the Communist Party VIPs who attended the celebratory ceremonies in Moscow. The artwork and sculptured details are exquisite even for a medal of this relatively early period. The obverse shows a well-dressed young Russian man and his Ukrainian counterpart in a folk shirt shaking hands above the Soviet state emblem. On the background are Kremlin towers and the figures of Russian and Ukrainian farmers of the past era (the latter is on the right, easily recognizable by his traditional "walrus" mustache and shaven head). One cannot help but notice that the modern Russian is a "white collar" city dweller while the Ukrainian is still a farmer, and that the Russian is quite a bit taller...

The reverse depicts the signing of the unification treaty between the Russian Boyars and officials of the formerly independent Ukraine in 1654. The writing on both sides is in Russian and Ukrainian languages.

The case of issue is in Karelian birch, a traditional Russian material of choice for luxury items. Measures 90 x 95 mm, approx. 55 mm in total height. Extremely well made and impressive, this box is far nicer than the usual Soviet medal issue cases. The lid has superimposed silver plaque with raised inscription "To a participant of the jubilee session of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR commemorating the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia". The lower right corner of the plaque has a silver hallmark "875" and a maker mark which is poorly struck by appears to be a Cyrillic "ЛМЮ4".

The medal is in excellent condition. The gilt finish is bright and well preserved creating an impression of a solid gold piece (its appearance to these days leads many to believe that it is made of gold). There are only a few miniscule dings to the raised edge that are almost unnoticeable to the unaided eye and some tiny dark spots but no edge knocks, bumps, scratches or other significant wear of any kind.

The exterior of the box has some barely noticeable scuffs to the lacquer finish at the bottom but is otherwise perfectly preserved: free of the usual cracks or chips and shows beautiful sheen to the wood. The silver plaque is perfect and firmly attached to the lid. The fragile wood housing for the hinge is intact and fully functional. The box is complete with its internal pad lined in plush maroon velvet (this part is often missing on the other surviving boxes we have seen.) The lining has only minor dust that may brush off, no stains or soiling.

A very scarce and impressive "VIP" set!

/See Commemorative [Table] Medal of the Soviet Period, 1919 - 1991, fig. 106 (identical medal in different size is shown as fig. 107)/

Please note, penny in our photo is for size reference.
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