1940s Mongolian People’s Republic Marshal Choibalsan's Sharpshooter Badge – Moscow Made, Exceptional Original Issue

Description

Original Item – Only One Available. An exceptionally well-preserved example of the “Choibalsan’s Sharpshooter” qualification badge, one of the most distinctive military proficiency awards of the Mongolian People’s Republic. Mongolian shooting-sport histories date the introduction of this distinction to 1944, following the earlier Sukhbaatar Sharpshooter badge and preceding the standardized Excellent Shooter award introduced in 1950. Named for Marshal Choibalsan, commander-in-chief of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Army, the badge recognized personnel who met the prescribed standards of military marksmanship during the closing years of the Second World War and the early postwar period.

The badge is constructed in gilt brass with red, blue and white enamel. Its obverse depicts a uniformed Mongolian marksman firing across a white target of concentric rings, surrounded by the inscription “Choibalsan’s Sharpshooter,” with a red star above and the initials “УБХ” on the lower red scroll. The reverse retains its full-length threaded post and original maker-marked screw plate reading “Moscow Artists’ Cooperative,” the Soviet workshop responsible for producing a number of early Mongolian awards and badges.

Condition is outstanding for an original example of this age. The colored enamel remains glossy and virtually complete, the raised marksman, lettering, target lines, and star retain exceptionally crisp definition. The original gilding is remarkably strong on the obverse, while the reverse displays an honest period patina and limited age-related oxidation around the screw plate, all clearly shown in the photographs. Complete early examples with excellent enamel and their correctly marked Moscow screw plates are seldom encountered, and this is a condition level rarely seen on the present collector market.