I have about 15 or more of these from my father's collection. They are all from the 1900s to the 19teens. I have different denominations. I can't read the language and don't know what they are. Thanks!!!
Imperial Russian 15 kopek, KM#21a2, 2.6994g .500 silver, ASW .0434 oz. from the St. Petersburg Mint. I don't have the expertise to determine whether it is the more common variety, valued at $16 XF/$40 Unc in the 2008 Krause, or the unpriced "rare" version. I'm very suspicious about Krause's accuracy, however. They list a mintage of 6,313,000 for the 1911 with Mint Official Victor Smirnov's initials, and say that the 1912 version without Smirnov's mark is included in that total. Then they say there is a "rare" 1912 version, with the initials, and a mintage of 13,333,000.
Krause has mixed it up with this coin. This 15 Kopeks coin of 1912 is rare with BC mint master initials (Victor Smirnov), while with ЭБ (Elikum Babayantz) initials it is very common for this year. For 1913 the situation is vice versa. Here is the extract from the Russian Conros 2009 catalog with prices in US$ for VF grade. Below the table are prices for the most common variety which allow approximate pro rata price determination. Thus your coin in XF would be about $3 worth.
