Absolutely wonderful. They're both very desirable sets. The top one is much earlier than the 70's in my opinion. It's 50's and rare. I am struggling to find one in that sort of condition for any sort of reasonable price, and I live in St Petersburg! The lower set is a Latvian, also in lovely condition. It's not particularly rare, but since its appearance in the Queen's Gambit, interest in it has shot through the roof, as has the price. Beautiful sets, enjoy them!
Thank You so much for your expertise feedback, I had been told before that the first one was a Circa 1950s era set, and it is in absolutely wonderful condition. The person who sold me the set had told me it was 1970s era, but she was not sure, there is no documentation within the set at all so your feedback is extremely valuable to me. Once again, thank you for your feedback.
Seen some of these old soviet sets - usually well worn - going on Ebay for £145 at the moment.
They're going for silly money at the minute. There are certain sets which are very rare and have commanded such prices and far more for a while, but now even inside Russia people are now asking for significant sums for some very bog standard sets, often in questionable condition. By the way, if you're looking for a Soviet set I'm looking to trim down my collection. I've got quite a few duplicates which I'm willing to sell for much less than a lot of the eBayers are asking, and most of them are unused. Let me know if you're interested.