The crown is in napped green wool with dark blue band and magenta piping; desirable square visor. Grey cotton liner; oilcloth sweat band, lacquered oilcloth chin strap (it is interesting to see that it has plaid underside, possibly utilized from pre-war civilian stock). The side buttons are in steel painted black, undated as is correct for WW2 period and probably original to the hat. The hat badge is the WW2 two-piece model in brass and high-quality enamel with superimposed hammer & sickle emblem.

The is no manufacturer's stamp or sweat shield with the logo, as typical of visor hats produced during the war; the liner has some hand- written characters in black and blue ink, possibly inventory markings. The underside of the sweat band has a stamped Cyrillic character Б ("B") and a hand-written numeral 1943 which may be the year of manufacture or a mark left by the original owner. The size is approx. 57-58 (US man's hat size 7 1/8 to 7 ¼)

The hat is in outstanding, excellent condition. It has kept its compact shape perfectly. The crown and band show none of the usual moth bites or stains, which is extremely uncommon for any early Soviet hat made of wool. Both the exterior and interior are perfectly clean, free of the usual stains or soiling. Unlike most other hats of the period, the liner and sweatband are original and have not been refitted. The chinstrap is likewise original; although it is somewhat stiff, slightly warped and shows a minor amount of wear, it remains sound, intact and presentable. There is only a modest amount of wear to the edge of the brim and the sweat band. The visor is perfect.

This rare and distinctive visor hat could be used by any Border Guard enlisted man, NCO, or officer below the rank of general. The Border Guards were essentially a Spetsnaz (Special Forces) branch of the Soviet State Security and had special training and equipment. During the 1930s-40s, they were under the direct control of NKVD.

Unlike most other Soviet troops, Border Guards typically wore their distinctive visor hat in the field, so few of their hats from WW2 era survived to our days, especially in a premium condition. This piece is an exceptionally rare find!