I'm thinking of doing a WWII figurehead collection. This is a Czechoslovakian coin but it's silver and has a bust of Stalin on it. The condition appears to be fine, though I do see some fine, light striations moving diagonally from bottom right to top left. Some cuds or other marks on the rim/edges. Any thoughts on a grade for the obverse? Thanks in advance!
I'm not familiar with it. I'd have to see it in hand to see the luster. Just from the pics it looks at least xf closer to Au
I have noticed many Nazi silver coins on Ebay. They don't appeal to me. I have never seen a coin with Comrade Stalin on it before. Very impressive. I have 1909 Russian Kopek with the Czar on it. I need to get my camera in gear so I can post some pics here.
If you're interested, that Stalin coin is a 1949 Czechoslovakia 100 Korun silver coin. So, not exactly a USSR coin but an Eastern European communist bloc country.
So what would be the silver content of the Stalin coin? Is it close to what a US silver dollar contains in silver? I like all the big silver coins. Now the USA went off the silver standard in 1964-65. What about other countries in the world?
It varies but most took the silver out a tad before or after we did. Canada stopped 1967 and in 68 I think from 80 percent to half. France in the 60s, England the 50s I think, Australia early 60s, etc. Mexico put silver in their Nuevo pesos (as low as the 10 pesos) up until 1993 or 94. Their 100 pesos still have a sterling center but I heard they never really circulated
Nice coin, I have both the 50 and 100 korun with this design. The design is kinda flat and not super detailed, but I am not seeing any obvious wear on your coin. Possibly a cloth swipe from what I'm seeing beneath the chin going down.
Stalin rarely appeared on coins with the exception of the Czechoslovakian coin. The only example where Stalin did appear on Russian coin is the following: http://cbr.ru/eng/bank-notes_coins/Base_of_memorable_coins/ShowCoins.aspx?cat_num=5117-0002 Needless to say, it's a hard coin to find for starters. But definitely will fit in your theme type set.
The Federal Republic of Germany had 5 DM silver circulation coins (Ag 625) until 1975. The country still issue silver collector coins at face. But if all that one is interested in is the silver content, a bullion piece would make more sense. Christian
This particular Stalin coin is 50% silver, 14 grams total (7 grams silver), and is 31mm. It's practically the same size as a US half dollar, which is slightly less than 31mm, weighs a little more overall, but has far less silver (90% vs 50%).
Many of those Czech silver coins from that era have fantastic designs, though I've always thought the Stalin issue was a wee bit weak artistically. In any case, they are all very reasonably priced and within the reach of beginning collectors who want high grade examples of coins in silver that are at least 50 years old. I picked this one up raw for $50. Was finest graded when it came back from NGC a year or two ago. (probably still is).
