Coin silver coins of 1924 are one of the most common coins of the time. Probably in every family somewhere in the piggy bank at least one copy of it is stored, not to mention the numismatists' albums.
Like any coin, fifty kopecks has a number of its own characteristics and variations, which causes constant interest among collectors. More than 20 varieties of it are known, some of which are so rare and valuable that any self-respecting numismatist wants to have them in his album.
Specifications
A fifty kopeck coin of 1924 was minted at the Petrograd Mint under the direction of Mintmeister Pyotr Latyshev in the amount of 26,559,000, the remaining 40 million were made in England, in Birmingham by Thomas Ross. The production capacities in the young country of the Soviets were simply not enough, and I had to resort to the help of foreign colleagues.
A fifty-fifty 1924 weighs 10 grams, 9 of which are pure silver of 900 samples. The diameter of the coin is 26.67 mm.
Coin description
One fifty kopeck piece of 1924 on the reverse has an image of the figure of a blacksmith with a hammer raised above his head. In front of it there is an anvil with a workpiece and sparks flying from it, behind you can see the attributes of peasant labor - a plow, sickle, wheels under your feet. The lower part indicates when the fifty kopeck piece was made - 1924
On the back (obverse) above the center is the emblem of the Soviet Union, on the sides are the letters SS and SR, respectively. Under the state emblem there is an inscription “One fifty dollars”, in a circle - “Workers of all countries, unite!” Obverse design has many similarities to a coin in one ruble of the same year of issue.
The edge contains information about the amount of silver (9 grams) and the initials of the head of the Mint:
- TR (Thomas Ross) - for coins produced in England;
- PL (Petr Latyshev) - if fifty kopecks are minted in Petrograd (Leningrad).
The image of a blacksmith on the reverse of a fifty dollars
The image of the thresher on the reverse of the coin is far from accidental. The young republic of the Soviets was only gaining momentum, and the cult of labor was in full swing. The worker, swinging his hammer over the anvil, embodied the best features of the common working people: strength, will, love of freedom and kindness. The artist’s message is clear: “Every smith is his own happiness,” and given the year the coin was issued, building a new world, a new free state of workers and peasants was considered happiness. The fifty dollars of 1924 is a kind of agitation, like many other things of that era.
Rare specimens with Old Slavonic inscription on the edge
Among collectors, the usual fifty dollars of 1924 cost no more than 600 rubles, but there are also those whose cost is several orders of magnitude higher.
At the very beginning of coinage, a certain part of the circulation due to the negligence of the mint workers fell into the old milling rings, which have remained since tsarist times. The result of the human factor was fifty dollars bearing an inscription in Old Slavonic on the hert: "9 grams of pure silver (2z 10.5 d)." Also, instead of the initials of Pyotr Latyshev and Thomas Ross, the letters AF appeared - the name and surname of the former manager Viktor Smirnov. The holder of such a rare coin can sell it for at least $ 50,000.
One fifty kopeck 1924 (silver) with rare initials
If you carefully consider the edge of this coin, you will notice that there is a dot between the letters in the initials, but not everywhere. Copies without this mark at auctions cost about 8,000 rubles.
There are also the initials of the FR, which stands for Thomas Ross, that is, the name Thomas is written in the Russian manner. This trial small batch was released in England, such fifty dollars also at a great price. Only five copies are known that are kept in private collections.
Other rare varieties of 1924
A small circulation of silver coins received the nickname of “thin workers” from specialists, since the size of the hammerhead’s head in this batch is slightly smaller than on ordinary fifty dollars. There are also differences in the thickness of the handle of the hammer, in the location of the folds of the apron, in the form of a workpiece.
Another valuable fifty dollars can be distinguished from the usual one by looking at the circular inscription on the obverse: a comma on a rare instance does not touch the inner rim, as on a standard coin.
In addition to the above, there are options with a smooth edge, they are also of great value to collectors, their average cost is 25,000 rubles.
The convex globe on the emblem of the USSR with a shorter ray of sun to the left of it is a sure sign that this fifty dollars can be sold much more than its face value.
The legend of the coin in 50 cents release 1924
The myths associated with the "silver hammer" have always been many. Until now, among the novice collectors there is a bike that there is one fifty kopeck coin of 1924, cast from platinum. Allegedly, a series of such fifty kopecks was minted in order to steal precious metal from a coin factory under the guise of silver. However, there is no reliable information about at least one instance of platinum. This fairy tale owes its appearance to one unfortunate numismatist who deciphered the letters PL on the edge as “platinum”, but in reality it is clear that this is nothing but the initials of the manager of monetary redistribution of Pyotr Vasilyevich Latyshev.
There is an opinion that in the near future the price even for ordinary fifty dollars, minted at the dawn of the USSR in millions of copies, will increase, since they are produced in a state that no longer exists. Probably, it’s already worth thinking about their acquisition, it will be a good investment of your own funds.