This is the 4th emission of Georgi Dimitrov Prize Laureate. It is made of 14 carats gold, and weighs 17-18 grams. The stamping of the master can be noticed as well.
The award is in excellent condition.
GENERAL INFO:
Instituted: On 23th May 1949, with a decree of the Presidium of the Great Assembly.
Awarded to: People were conferred upon with the "Laureate" title for their achievement in science, technology and culture.
Form: a round shape of 26 mm in diameter. At first, the laureate was made of bronze, later (after 1960) it started to be made of gold.
Obverse: Georgi Dimitrov's left profile. To the right and below the image can be noticed a laurel twig.
Reverse: a five-pointed star. Below reads the inscription: "LAUREATE OF DIMITROV’S PRIZE", the year of achievement and the class: first, second and third (the award came in different classes until 1960). The badge is carried on a bar of metal with a red ribbon.
Classes and materials:
I-st class - entirely gold
II-nd class is silver with gold-image relief of Dimitrov's
III-rd class is made of bronze, with silver-image relief of Dimitrov's
The title had three classes, which ceased to exist in 1960. After 1960 the title started to occur in one class only, made of gold.
Emissions:
1. The first emission is characterized by lettering that indicates the class of the title: first, second and third classes respectively.
2. The second emission of the title consists of one class only, made of gold. On the reverse can be noticed the periods during which the emission was awarded: 1962-1964,1964-1966,1966-1968,1968-1970,1971,1972
3. The third, interim emission is made of gold, too. After 1972 the years of awarding ceased to be mentioned on the back of the award.
For a period of 3-4 years there were awarded decorations that were left out from previous years. The emission year on their reverse was erased by the Bulgarian mint and replaced with a stamp.
4. The fourth, last emission was issued after the quantity of the previous ones came to an end. This emission is characterized by lettering without years and it is placed in the center of the award (in comparison, the lettering of the previous emissions is placed in an upper position).
The award is marked with “0”, “1” or “2”, which stand for the masters stamps.
This type of stamping was often used by the Bulgarian mint during the 1980s with other GOLD Bulgarian awards, too.
Author: prof. Luben Dimitrov
Awarded: There is no official information, but it is known that during the first year of awarding: 1950, there were about 30-40 people who were honored with the title. The total number of awarded people is 724.
Emission closed: 1990