Russian "whopper coppers" (5-kopek pieces): huge, fun coins from the 1700s that won't break the bank

I have always liked these big, impressive coppers since I encountered some in a "$20 pick bin" bowl at one of the FUN shows in the early 2000s. They can still sometimes be found in that price range, or even less, if you're lucky, though the nicer ones can of course be a bit more expensive than that.

The strikes are crude and quirky, and the quality of the flans varies, but I say they're good, relatively inexpensive fun. And they're impressive to non-collectors as well, for their size and heft and 1700s dates. Kids love ‘em!

The Russian Imperial double-headed eagle on them is quite handsome.

I'm posting this thread mostly just to upload images of some of the more recent ones I've acquired, but by all means, post yours too.

 

Russia: copper 5-kopecks of Catherine the Great, 1769-EM, Ekaterinburg mint

Copper, 41.5 mm, 41.51 g. Krause-Mishler (Cohen)-59.3, Numista-8257. Struck at Ekaterinburg in the reign of Catherine II ("The Great").

 

Russia: copper 5-kopecks of Catherine the Great, 1771-EM, Ekaterinburg mint

Copper, 42 mm, 47.98 g. Krause-Mishler (Cohen)-59.3, Numista-8257. Struck at Ekaterinburg in the reign of Catherine II ("The Great").

 

Russia: copper 5-kopecks of Catherine the Great, 1782-EM, Ekaterinburg mint

Copper, 41.8 mm, 56.42 g. Krause-Mishler (Cohen)-59.3, Numista-8257. Struck at Ekaterinburg in the reign of Catherine II ("The Great").

 

While the 1771 is higher grade, that 1782 has the nicest surfaces, I think- of all the half dozen or so I bought last fall. (Three of which aren't seen here. @Paddy54 and @furryfrog02's son also ended up with one.)

 

The colors range from reddish to chocolate brown to blackish. I agree, the dark color is kind of nice.

Numista calls that a "reticulated" edge. A netlike pattern, in other words. (I note that the Roman gladiators who fought with nets were called retiarii.)

 

Maybe, but not necessarily. I've seen a variety of patinas on them in lots of different grades. Just like you might see on smaller copper coins.

(I was about to say "just like you see on Lincoln cents", but the US small cents of 1864-1982 were bronze, for the most part, whereas I would imagine these huge Russian coins are of a purer copper composition.)

 

Yes, I suggested he post those, as they show some of the different colors. Nice lot! (He got a steal on 'em, too, in my opinion.) I never thought about collecting these by date, but that could be fun, and if you had them all laid out in Abafil trays or something similar, it would be an impressive collection!

 

Now there’s a proper looking hoard!