Not every person thinks that coins lying in a grandmother’s chest or even in their own wallet can cost much more than their own face value. And the price of some copies is amazing. Selling just one coin, you can buy an apartment in the capital. Holders of such money often miss the opportunity to receive benefits because they do not know the prices of 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 displays such wretched crooks to clean water.
It’s a paradox, but the most expensive coins of the USSR made of nickel or copper have a value higher than gold copies. 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 its circulation and the number of remaining monetary units.
The formation of the monetary system. The 20s
Each resident 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 a post-revolutionary country. Due to the dominance of paper money, the issue of coins was not adjusted. The paramount task was the issue of exchange currency units. Therefore, they were minted in small batches. Reforms followed one after another, because of which the old circulations were quickly seized and destroyed. The new Soviet power gave us coins of the USSR of the 20s, which in the modern world have considerable value.
1 ruble of 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 a shortage of silver in 1922, a redistribution of power began. After Arthur Hartmann, Pyotr Latyshev began to command production. As a result of this, the circulation of two million monetary units with the initials of the former mitzmaster was replenished with a new issue with the letters "PL". Other coins of the USSR of 1921 - 1922 do not represent special value.
Money 1924 - 1925
A trifle, which some of us do not even consider money and leave for cashiers in stores for tea, can become quite expensive under certain circumstances. So, the price of a USSR coin 3 kopecks of 1924 with a ribbed edge can reach more 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 round letters of the USSR.
The most expensive are the metal money of 1925. During this period, the release of little things stopped due to the fact that the stocks of mints finally reached the required level. But there were "half", made under the royal coinage. They were released only in 1925, 1927 and 1928.
A rare and especially valuable coin of this year is 2 kopecks.
Coins 1927 - 1929
The cost of a coin of the USSR 1 kopeck (1927 ) is relatively small and is only about 2500 rubles. But take a closer look: if the letters of the USSR are slightly elongated, you immediately become the owner of a rarity worth at least 20 times more expensive.
The monetary unit of 2 kopecks was in circulation for quite some time. Therefore, the surviving specimens have a worn appearance, which does not affect the cost.
Three pennies with a narrow edging of golden color are completely unremarkable. But worth a closer look. If there are no decorative elements, year of issue or mint mark on them, then the price can reach several hundred thousand rubles.
The coin of 50 kopecks was issued in a small edition in 1929 and was not put into circulation. This determined its value, because this monetary unit is not even in the collection of the Leningrad Mint. Only one copy is known in the world, which is owned by a private individual. Its design is unique, all the aesthetics of the late NEP are conveyed here.
The nickel decade
During this period, silver money became rare. The noble metal was replaced by a practical and inexpensive copper-nickel alloy. From it were made 10, 15 and 20 kopek coins. In 1931, the last circulation of monetary units of the same denomination came out. These are rare coins of the USSR, no information about their number was left. The cost of such instances is quite high due to the high cost of the material. At numismatic auctions, they are rare, as circulations were destroyed and re-melted.
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. It is only known that he was quite small.
For quite a long time in money turnover there was a bronze nickel of 1933 with a typical monetary detail typical for that time.
The most valuable coin of that time was the “Hammers” - twenty kopecks. It owes its name to the proletarian depicted on the obverse with a hammer. 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 were not re-released, most likely due to rather complex artistic elements in the design.
Money during the war
The era in which metal money was minted greatly affects its value. For example, during the Great Patriotic War there were neither resources nor forces for making 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, the money was issued by trial miserable circulations, most of which were not put into circulation. And those who were in their hands, for unknown reasons, were quickly seized.
There is a version that this is due to administrative-territorial changes. The emblem of the USSR, on old-style coins, had sixteen bandages of ears. But after the war, only fifteen administrative-territorial units remained.
Even the most enthusiastic numismatists do not own information about some circulations. It is only known that they were released, but did not appear in circulation. Therefore, a person holding money of this time is the owner of this treasure.
Post-war money
Post-war specimens are no less valuable. This is due to the weakening of control over the production of coins, since their minting did not have large-scale significance. The priority of this period was the detuning 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 in pure bronze, without the addition of nickel, aluminum and other metals. The rarest representative of this series is the face value of 1 kopeck. Find it is almost impossible.
Fifties monetary business
This time is characterized by more practical and inexpensive alloys for minting coins. These circulations 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 was repeated again. Thousands of print runs were destroyed before they entered the circulation. But in the collections of numismatists settled several hundred copies.
1956 USSR coins from the trial edition 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.
Iron-chromium-nickel and zinc-nickel alloys became materials for minting coins. Such money has survived to the present day, but they do not represent special value.
Looking at the rare coins of the USSR in 1958, you can be sure that the external characteristics of these instances are markedly different from the previous ones. On the obverse, instead of the two ears surrounding the face value, wide laurel wreaths connected from below are depicted. They are made of aluminum bronze.
Cash Production 1961 - 1991
Formally, this era began with the reform of 1961. It is characterized by the mass production of coinage and huge circulations of the release of metallic money, as well as political stability. The small and almost the same diameter of small change coins was not always convenient, which made their use difficult. The "half" returned, but due to inconvenience in production and use, it was quickly withdrawn.
In general, this period is characterized as a “gray” time of numismatics. For example, for USSR coins 15 kopecks in 1978 will not give more than a hundred rubles.
The most striking and expensive representative is the 10-ruble monetary unit of 1991. It was released in the metropolitan 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. She became the first copy dedicated to a special date or anniversary of an outstanding person. Jubilee coins of the USSR were issued in huge editions, so their cost is low, with the exception of products from precious metals. The main material was a copper-nickel alloy. The cost also reflects a rare variety of stamps, coinage error.
To a greater extent, the copies were presented in rubles, but coins with a different denomination come across. 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 nominal and the coat of arms, and on the reverse is the image of Lenin against the background of a hammer and sickle, next to it is a star and the name of the state. On the edge there is a jubilee date and an inscription of glorification of the Great October Revolution.
The category dedicated to the Olympic Games has the same obverse for all denominations. At the top is the national emblem, 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 note is named after. Under it is the date of coinage, and on the sides is the name of the series.
The most expensive coins of the USSR are precious metal products dedicated to the Olympic and national sports, their history, settlements and structures. Also, from the precious metal of the material, products of the series “1000th Anniversary of Various Events of Russia” and “Russian Ballet” were made. Also valuable is a series dedicated to the half-century anniversary of the abolition of serfdom, standing on the Ugra River, the Assumption Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin.
The most extensive catalog is in the coins from the series “70th Anniversary of the Great October Revolution”. They are made of nickel and copper. These metals served as material for the category “Cathedrals and Monuments”.
Commemorative coins made of copper-nickel alloy with a 1-ruble denomination were also dedicated to the great figures of science, literature, music, politics and other areas.
Until 1965, commemorative coins were intended only for collectors and did not apply to regular coinage. Accordingly, they were issued only in a limited edition. The decision to create them arose at the end of 1960, on the eve of large-scale financial reform. In order to save money, a trifle from old-style bronze was not withdrawn from circulation.
Since 1977, commemorative coins began to be issued annually as an indicator and a means of expressing memory and pride in historical events and the people involved in them.
Much less often and in smaller quantities you can find specimens 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 standard coinage, various marriage options were revealed on it.