Abstract: The invention concerns an article, in particular a packaging, which is provided with an individual marking means. Furthermore, the invention concerns methods and devices for the individual marking and identification of articles, in particular packages. Known packagings have marking means which of course confer a certain degree of safety from counterfeiting. But firstly the packagings are expensive to make due to the additional marking elements. Secondly the usual marking means can also be manipulated with corresponding expenditure, so that a large number of counterfeit packagings are still in circulation. Due to the packaging according to the invention, which is characterised in that the marking means is a random identifier peculiar to the article, in particular to the package, the safety from counterfeiting is increased compared with conventional packagings, this being with very little expenditure, so that the costs of the packaging are also lower than known packagings.