The most expensive coins of the USSR. Rare and commemorative coins of the USSR

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:45

Not every person thinks that coins lying in a grandmother's chest of drawers or even in one's own purse can cost much more than their own face value. And the price of some copies is amazing. By selling just one coin, you can buy an apartment in the capital. The owners of such money often miss the opportunity to receive benefits due to the fact that they do not know the prices for the most expensive coins of the USSR.

What affects the cost

An important factor is the authenticity of the coin. Quite often, counterfeiters try to sell fakes at numismatic auctions. It is worth noting that any experienced numismatist quickly brings such unfortunate swindlers to clean water.

It's a paradox, but the most expensive coins of the USSR made of nickel or copper are worth more than gold coins. Here the main factor will be its rarity. Even with severe damage to the coin, you can get an impressive amount for it if it is released in a limited edition.

Also, the value of a coin is affected by itscirculation and the number of surviving monetary units.

Formation of the monetary system. 20s

Every inhabitant of our country has the opportunity to find a whole treasure, because during the existence of the Soviet Union a large number of rare coins were issued. This is due to the formation of a new monetary system in the post-revolutionary country. Due to the dominance of paper money, the issue of coins was not established. The primary task was the issue of change currency units. Therefore, they were minted in small batches. Reforms followed one after another, because of which the old circulations were promptly seized and destroyed. The new Soviet government gave us coins of the USSR of the 1920s, which are of considerable value in the modern world.

1 ruble 1921 and 1922

Despite the similarity of these instances, their cost varies significantly. This is due to historical conditions. In the Mint of Petrograd, in connection with the shortage of silver in 1922, a redistribution of power began. After Artur Hartmann, Pyotr Latyshev began to command production. As a result, the circulation of two million monetary units with the initials of the former mintzmeister was replenished with a new issue with the letters "PL". Other coins of the USSR of 1921-1922 are of no particular value.

Money 1924-1925

Things that some of us don't even consider money and tip cashiers in stores can become quite expensive under certain circumstances. So, the price of a coin of the USSR 3 kopecks of 1924 with a ribbed edge can reachmore than fifty thousand rubles. Among other coins of the same year of issue, it is the most expensive. Significantly inferior to the "treshka" in value, a monetary unit with a face value of 50 kopecks. Also interesting is the coin of 20 kopecks, which has rounded letters USSR.

The most expensive are metal money of 1925. During this period, the release of small change was suspended due to the fact that the stocks of the mints finally reached the required level. But there were "polushki", produced under the royal coinage. They were produced only in 1925, 1927 and 1928.

2 kopecks are considered a rare and especially valuable coin of this year.

Coins 1927-1929

The cost of a coin of the USSR 1 kopeck (1927) is relatively small and amounts to only about 2500 rubles. But take a closer look: if the letters of the USSR are a little elongated, you immediately become the owner of a rarity worth at least 20 times more.

The currency 2 kopecks has been in circulation for a long time. Therefore, the surviving specimens have a worn out appearance, which does not affect the cost in any way.

Three kopecks with a narrow golden edging are quite unremarkable. But it's worth taking a look. If they do not have decorative elements, a year of issue or a mint mark, then the price can reach several hundred thousand rubles.

The 50 kopeck coin was issued in a small circulation in 1929 and was not put into circulation. This determined its value, because this currency is not even in the collection of the Leningrad Mint. Only one specimen is known in the world, whichis owned by a private individual. Its design is unique, it conveys all the aesthetics of the late New Economic Policy.

The Nickel Decade

During this period, silver money became rare. The noble metal was replaced by a practical and inexpensive copper-nickel alloy. 10, 15 and 20 kopeck coins were made from it. In 1931, the last circulation of monetary units of the same denomination was issued. These are rare coins of the USSR, no information about their number remains. The cost of such copies is quite high due to the high cost of the material. They are rare at numismatic auctions, as the circulations were destroyed and melted down.

A striking example of such unique designs is a 10-kopeck coin. In addition to the precious metal from which it is made, this currency is a rarity. Its exact circulation has not been established. What is known is that it was quite small.

For quite a long time, a bronze penny of 1933 with the design of small change, typical for that time, was in circulation.

The most valuable coin of that time was "hammerers" - twenty kopecks. It owes its name to the proletarian with a hammer depicted on the obverse. Immediately after the release, almost all of this money was destroyed, so there is no exact information about the number. Collectors managed to save only fifteen copies.

They have not been re-released, most likely due to rather complex artistic elements in the design.

Money during the wartime

The era in which metal money was minted greatly affectstheir cost. For example, during the Great Patriotic War, there were neither resources nor forces to make new money. The Mint of Leningrad did not issue coins in the usual volume due to the fact that it was evacuated. For this reason, money was issued in scanty trial runs, most of which never entered circulation. And those that were on hand, for unknown reasons, were quickly withdrawn.

There is a version that this is due to administrative-territorial changes. The coat of arms of the USSR on old-style coins had sixteen baldrics of ears. But after the war, only fifteen administrative-territorial units remained.

Even the most enthusiastic numismatists do not have information about some circulations. It is only known that they were released, but did not appear in circulation. Therefore, a person who has the money of this time is the owner of a real treasure.

Post-war money

Post-war copies are no less valuable. This is due to the weakening of control over the production of coins, since their minting was not of great importance. The priority of this period was the rebuilding of residential buildings and production facilities. And the equipment of the mint of Leningrad, evacuated to Krasnokamsk, needed to be repaired or replaced.

The most expensive coins of the USSR are the money of 1947. Their distinguishing feature is the material from which they are made. All coins are cast from pure bronze, without the addition of nickel, aluminum and other metals. The rarest representative of this series is the denomination of 1 kopeck. To findits almost impossible.

Fifties Mining

This time is characterized by more practical and inexpensive coinage alloys. These editions were issued in order to test the properties of the material and the possibility of embodying the artist's ideas on it. For this reason, the history of the post-war period repeated itself again. Thousands of copies were destroyed before they could enter circulation. But several hundred copies have settled in the collections of numismatists.

Coins of the USSR of 1956 from the test issue are of particular interest to collectors due to experiments with both metals and denominations. This year, the conveyor produced many defective samples. It was they who later became representatives of rare varieties.

The materials for minting coins were iron-chromium-nickel and zinc-nickel alloys. Such money has survived to this day, but they are not of particular value.

Looking at the rare coins of the USSR in 1958, you can see that the external characteristics of these copies are noticeably different from the previous ones. On the obverse, instead of two ears of corn surrounding the denomination, wide laurel wreaths are depicted connected below. They are made of aluminum bronze.

Money production 1961-1991

Formally, this era began with the 1961 reform. It is characterized by mass production of coinage and huge circulations of metallic money, as well as political stability. The small and almost identical diameter of change coins was not always convenient, whichmade them difficult to use. The “polyushka” returned, but due to inconvenience in production and use, it was quickly withdrawn.

In general, this period is characterized as a "grey" time of numismatics. For example, for coins of the USSR 15 kopecks of 1978 will not give more than a hundred rubles.

The brightest and most expensive representative is the 10-ruble currency of 1991. It is produced by the Moscow Mint from bimetal and has an aesthetic and modern design.

Special dates and anniversaries

In the year of the twentieth anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, a coin was minted. It became the first copy dedicated to a special date or anniversary of an outstanding person. Commemorative coins of the USSR were issued in huge circulations, so their cost is low, with the exception of items made of precious metals. The main material was a copper-nickel alloy. Also, the cost is reflected in a rare variety of stamps, a minting error.

To a greater extent, the specimens were presented in rubles, but there are also coins with a different denomination. The largest collection of commemorative coins was dedicated to the 1980 Olympic Games.

Commemorative coins of the USSR

The material for the coins of the series "50 years of Soviet power" was a copper-nickel alloy. On the obverse there is a capital designation of the denomination and a coat of arms, and on the reverse there is an image of Lenin against the background of a hammer and a sickle, next to it is a star and the name of the state. On the edge there is the date of the anniversary and the inscription glorifying the Great October.

The category dedicated to the Olympic Games has the same for allobverse denominations. At the top is the coat of arms of the country, and on the sides are the letters of the USSR. Below is the denomination of the coin. In the middle of the reverse is an image of what the metal banknote is named after. Below it is the date of minting, and on the sides is the name of the series.

The most expensive coins of the USSR are items made of precious metals dedicated to Olympic and national sports, their history, settlements and buildings. Also, products of the series "1000th anniversary of various events in Russia" and "Russian ballet" are made from the precious metal of the material. Also valuable is the series dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom, standing on the Ugra River, the Assumption Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin.

The most extensive catalog is for coins from the series "70th Anniversary of the Great October Revolution". They are made of nickel and copper. These metals also served as material for the Cathedrals and Monuments category.

Great figures of science, literature, music, politics and other areas were also dedicated to commemorative coins made of copper-nickel alloy with a face value of 1 ruble.

Until 1965, commemorative coins were intended only for collectors and did not belong to the money of regular minting. Accordingly, they were produced only in a limited edition. The decision to create them arose at the end of 1960, on the eve of a large-scale financial reform. In order to save money, a trifle from bronze of the old sample was not withdrawn from circulation.

Since 1977, commemorative coins have been issued annually as an indicator and means of expressing memory and pride in historicalevents and people involved.

Much rarer and in smaller quantities you can find copies with a face value of 10 rubles. The most valuable for numismatists is the first bimetallic coin, which was put into circulation in 1991. It is unique, as it was released on the eve of the collapse of the country. In addition to the standard coinage, it also revealed various marriage options.