I have a gold coin my grandfather left for me and I dont know how to upload photo's here. It says 15 pyeash 1897 r. a bunch of russian lettering and lettering on the rim. picture of an eagle and a russian president on either side. feels like gold. Any help is appreciated
Sounds as an Imperial Russian 15 rouble coin, struck in gold. The bust is of the last emperor: czar Nicholas II. 1897 is the only year of issue. Weight: 12.9039 gram fineness: 0.900 Actual Gold Weight: 0.3734 oz. About value: as my Krause is a bit outdated, I am certain the given values did change a lot, so it is useless to give them.
Would have to see the condition of the coin to know the value...I CAN say that unless all the detail is worn off the coin...it will not just be worth bullion.
About the shape that the coin its in. I had my grandfathers friend who collects canadian coins look at it. He doesnt know anything about the Russian coins but he said by just looking at it, it was in superb shape and would probably be graded at au55 and is def gold. Not sure what it meant, he tried to explain it but old people dont explain things well...lol He simply said its in top shape for a coin. I wish I knew how to upload pictures here to show you guys. But if someones gives me there email I can email it and they can upload it for me. The picture in this thread is the exact coin I have
AU means almost uncirculated, the number is part of a convoluted grading system used to jack up prices between coins that are almost the same grade. okay...well...here are a few examples and prices realized: this one is MS63 (Mint State 63 in the convoluted expanded grading system, I would call it FDC which means top shape)...this means not circulated at all and top shape. This sold for 1400 USD this year This one is labeled EF or Extremely Fine: This coin sold for 700.00 USD This was listed as AU58 and priced to sell at 700-800 USD It sold for 600 USD In the end, if your coin is almost uncirculated...this means its probably in pretty good shape and I would think the value of it would be anywhere between 500-800 USD give or take...this is not exact of course and someone might be able to get a more exact value for you...in the end, its worth what someone will pay for it
It would be a very nice coin if your collector grandpa described it as such. Please take care and don't clean it and keep it as it is now to protect any numismatic value.
Thanks Dru I appreciate you taking time to post all of that. It was completely helpful and quite interesting. IN your opinion what do you think I should do with this coin? Should I sell it? Should I keep it? I have a tonne load of coins to keep for sentimental value. Also some other really cool lookings ones. I just really don't know what I should do with this. I mean I don't want to go out and sell it right away because I can make $600 from it. If it's rare and one of a kind (kind of) maybe keep it? Or maybe the value will go up on it. I guess what I mean is, is this a rare coin and I should be in awe of it? Is it a special part of history I have here and coin dealers/collectors would love to have this? I am just trying to get a feel for how rare/important this coin is. Thanks again for the replies guys.
Its compeltely up to you. I would not sell it, I would keep it simply because I do not sell coins and collect all coins and medals whether they are common or one of a kind. ALL coins are important bits of history IMO. This coin depicts the czar Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia until bolshevics forced his abdication then killed him...giving rise to the Soviet Union. A pivotal historical character without doubt. It is not terribly rare I dont think (unless I am missing something) but it isnt common either...I believe it was said already that this coin was minted only one year. If the coin is real as described you would have no problem selling it if that was your wish. Russian coins have a strong following
But that dont mean that there are that number out there, please remember that some will have been lost and many might well have been melted down for the gold. Personaly I would keep it as it is a lovely coin with quite some history attached to it.
Thanks for all the replies again. After reading them all I think I am going to keep it. I find what Dru said to be fascinating about the coin. If I am going to start collecting coins why not have this one be the top of my coin collection? Sounds good to me. I guess I should start reading up on coins and getting to know them before I start purchasing some. From what I hear there are alot fraudful coins out there. Right now I wouldn't have a clue of what I was buying. Any suggestions on what to look for when buying coins? Thanks.
That is a great coin to have at the top. That’s how everyone wishes they could start their collections.
Its a great coin to start a collection with I would say you should just start looking at coins, figure out what interests you. If you have any doubts, post it here and people will help. A great place to look at different coins would be: http://www.coinarchives.com They do not sell coins but have some of the best examples to view of all types from all around the world and through time. If you are looking for coins you could buy: http://www.vcoins.com is a great place to browse different coin types.
Hey thanks for the great websites! I just went to one and think I just found my new interest! I have always just liked the Morgan dollars but now I am really looking into the really old coins. Here is the coin I am talking about. http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/agoracoins/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=219
