Crazy about old copper coins

I think it is not a shame to be crazy about old and fat/big copper coins. Here are some coins of my collection: 5 Russian kopeikas, Siberian coin and occupation coin for Moldova and Wallachia.

Do you know what is the issue date for 5 kopeikas piece?

Howerver, I have more than 450 Russian coins in my collection...!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Tom,the obverse of that Czarina Elizabeth coin is inscribed in Latin,instead of the usual Russian.I couldn't find any trace of a date,but it is definitely 18th Century.

Aidan.

 

I can't find any reference for the large copper piece. It may be the same size as a 5 kopecks coin, but is it actually a coin?

 

I'm sorry to break the news but the first two coins are counterfeit. The last coin is 2para 3 kopeks Moldova and Wallachia but I can't tell the year. Should be minted between 1772-1774.

 

Wow, and I thought that it was just me, phew, thanks gx.

 

It changes nothing: I`m still crazy about them. Please, tell me: how to recognize Russian fakes?

 

If you are a collector of Imperial Russian coins, stop wasting your money on buying more counterfeits. Instead consider a high quality investment of about USD 29.95 about Russian coins by Uzedenikov. Alternatively if you have more money to burn, you can get Brekke which specializes in copper coins. If you have troubles finding them, I'll check if there are any although Basok should have them. Try this link: http://www.rustypennies.com

 

I agree that these are great pieces to collect and not too much money for most dates.
People who have never held one of these monsters in their hands can't imagine just how big they are so here's some visual help courtesy of my two Catherine the Great 5 Kopek pieces and suddenly tiny looking '64 Kennedy proof.

 

Here's one of mine - I share your love of large, Russian, copper :thumb:



~Roman

 

Roman,that is a very nice copper coin of Czarina Catherine II,the Great (ruled 1762-96).Is that a 5 Kopecks?

Aidan.

 

Thanks, Aidan. It is 5 kopecks.

 

Mine, just like the 2 in Mikjo0s' pictures, is from Ekaterinburg Mint in the Ural Mountains (EM).

 

Roman,do you collect Czarist Russian silver,such as the 20 Kopecks of Czarina Catherine II,the Great? What about commemorative silver Roubles,such as the famous Romanov Dynasty Tercentanary one dated 1913?

Aidan.

 

I wish I did, Aidan. Eventually, I want to get into Russian Imperial coinage, since it's a part of my heritage. However, I have started with Spanish Colonials and until I feel comfortable with this series, will not venture into anything else. I am a strong believer in learning about the series before spending money on it and my knowledge of Imperial Russian coinage is very minimal.

~Roman

 

Excellent photography Roman!

 

Thank you, lwrncwg! Photography is a major part of collecting for me.

 

You don't really want to start collecting Russian coins right now. They are going too hot and what I used to pay a few years back easily double in today's dollars.

Speaking of which, if you want old HUGE copper coin, this is the largest that I have - a 7.64 kopek coin.



Mass is a heavy 76.4grams, way over the limit of 45-55grams. I haven't seen any that is this grossly overweight.

 

GX, fortunatelly buying presented coins wasn`t waste of money - I`ve bought all the box of 300 different coins
almost for nothing.

I saw many Russian fakes - on most of them patin is a simply paint. I remember that in middle 80`s were very popular museal copies sets with booklet (manual?). The coins were pretty good but booklet was a simply and awful paperback.
I used to use Schelohov catalogue - it is only for USRR period, but personaly I think this one is the best.

I`m a happy owner of "300 years of Romanov Dynasty" 1 silver roubel coin and I`m sure this one is not a fake.
But - I`ve seen last time many silver roubles "death of Gangut". Belive me, they are perfect! Price - about $120, but I`m sure they are restrikes made in young Soviet Russia about 1922.

Russian coinage is strange - what do you think about small silver "tear" 5 kopeikas"?

 

Uzedenikov's book is a must if you are serious in collecting Imperial Russian coins of 1700-1917.

There are two varieties of the Romanov ruble - you might want to post a picture so that I can tell you what variety you got there. Unfortunately there are also counterfeits of these as well even though well over 1.5 million of these were minted.

I am very sure that the Gangut ruble is a dead counterfeit. If it is genuine, do expect to pay at least 6000USD, not any less. For the price of 150USD, you are getting an extremely good counterfeit like this one that I have:



That does seem perfect doesn't it? Did it pass the weight test? Yes it did. It weights exactly the same as a normal ruble would. Did it pass the dimension test? Yes it did. Same dimension as a normal ruble. Now you know how scary the level of counterfeit is. Restrikes of Gangut rubles are relatively rare and these too easily go over several thousands of dollars.

 

I have seen only 1 example of the 1914 Gangut Rouble,&,yes,it was a genuine one.The 1912 Defeat of Napoleon silver 1 Rouble is another rare coin that NEVER turns up.In the 10 years that I have been working for a coin dealer,I have never seen the 1912 commemorative Rouble,nor have I seen the 1883 or the 1896 Coronation commemorative silver 1 Roubles.

Aidan.