Any help identifying this gold coin much appreciated...

The words in Cyrilic translate to "Elissa" and "Polti," both women's names

 

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It is not Elissa. It is Elisabet.

 

Thank you. Someone in Bulgaria translated it for me as Elissa...I guess there's another translation, Elisabet.

 

Thanks for the tip on Elizabet. It helped me figure out the answer:
Gold Poltina (1/2 Ruble) of Elizabeth. 1756.
Obverse: Bust of Elizabeth. (Elizabeth Petrovna Romanov ruled from 1741 to 1762)
Reverse: Double headed eagle and legend in russian.

 

Well, it was split into two. Elisa on the left and Betimi on the right. Combines to Elisabetimi, which is nothing more than a declension of Elisabeth.

In the same way Poltina 1775 is split after the i.

The coin is not the same as the only 1775 poltina listed in Krause, which is actually a silver coin. So I am not sure what you actually have.

 

The surface looks very pitted. Cast ?

 

Thanks, Sakata. That makes sense. The date is 1756, not 1775. I think 1756 was the first year for the gold Poltina.

 

I noticed the pitting. I've only had this coin for a few hours, so I'm just trying to learn everything about it.

 

Oops! Sorry, my mistake on the date. I had open the reply window and was going from memory. Here is the catalog info for your coin. There is also a C#21.2, similarly priced, but it is hard to know which it is from your pictures.

C# 21.1
Denomination Poltina (1/2 Rouble)
Country Russia
Government Empire
Ruler Elizabeth
Coinage Type Standard Coinage
Composition Gold
Fineness 0.917
Weight 0.81 g 0.0239 oz AGW
Description Obverse Crowned bust right
Description Reverse Crowned monogram
Notes Crown varieties.

Mintages & Price Information

Coin Mintage VG FINE VF XF UNC
1756 22,000 $120 $500 $2,000 $4,000 $8,500

 

Thank you for this information! Do you have an opinion on the grade? Maybe "fine"?

 

Actually, I just zoomed in on your picture to try to answer your question and found that I had misread the observe. It says Elizabet, IMP. In other words Empress Elizabeth. As for the grade, I think better pictures are needed, but I would think better than Fine. Others with more experience of grading coins should chime in.

 

Lots of Russian and even Soviet coins are subject to forgeries - you can find them in bazaars very easily in Russia and the former USSR.

 

That's not surprising to hear. Thanks for the input. I'll have to show this coin to someone who knows their stuff.

 

This is not genuine. You can look up examples under "Russia 1756 poltina gold" in google images.

 

Thanks, would not be a surprise to learn that it's fake.