Coins of the Russian Empire. Copper coins in the everyday life of Russians at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries

Time of Nicholas I. 1842 POLUSHKA, a small Russian coin; minted since the 15th century. from silver. 1 half was equal to 1/2 Moscow or 1/4 Novgorod money. Since 1534, the penny is the smallest coin of the Moscow State, equal to 1/4 kopeck, with ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Small token Russian coin; minted since the 15th century. from silver. 1 penny \u003d 1/2 Moscow or 1/4 Novgorod money. Since 1534, the penny is the smallest coin of the Moscow State, equal to 1/4 kopeck, since 1700 the smallest denomination of the Russian coin ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

POLUShKA, polushka, for women. In the old days, a copper coin worth half a penny or a quarter of a penny. “Across the sea, a heifer is a half, but I’m transporting a ruble.” (last). ❖ Not a penny (simple obsolete) not a penny, about the complete absence of money. “The old woman ordered salt ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Female (half a marten's ear? Or a pullo?) Almost out of the account, the smallest coin, half money, a quarter of a kopeck. There are twelve poluskas in an altyn, and ten magpies in a ruble. | Polushka, tamb. two sacrums, two grandmothers of sheaves in the field, half a sheaf. | bonfire cologr. measure ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Lepta Dictionary of Russian synonyms. polushka n., number of synonyms: 5 goglikha (1) mite ... Synonym dictionary

See Money... Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia

POLUShKA, and, wives. In the old days: a small copper quarter-kopeck coin. Across the sea, heifer p., Yes, I’m transporting the ruble (last). There is not a penny (not a penny). Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

Polushka, otherwise half money is the smallest unit in the old money account. It was half of a Muscovite or a quarter of a Novgorod, which is why the Novgorodians called it a quarter. The trading book says: the spool of the kidneys is 25, and the kidney pulls 1 half ... and ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

AND; pl. genus. shek, dat. shkam; and. An old copper coin worth a quarter of a penny. Copper, shiny st. // A quarter of a penny of money. Pay a half. Get a penny of money. ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Polushka- (poludenga) small change rus. coin. From the 15th century minted from silver, equal to 1/2 Moscow. or 1/4 novgorod. dengi (hence its name. Quarter). After the reform of 1534 P. the smallest coin of the Mosk. state va, equal to 1/4 kop. (its weight is 0.17 g of silver).… … Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

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HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE COPPER PENNY OF 1704.

I think that those who are engaged in numismatics, collecting or treasure hunting of Russian coins have heard more than once about monetary reform Peter the Great (Peter 1), as a result of which the most mysterious and controversial coin of the Russian Empire was born. The history of the origin of the copper penny of 1704 with the letters "BK" and "MD" is the subject of the next few paragraphs. As often happens, the study of the history of the origin of this coin is associated with a rather large drawback, or indistinctness of the available documents, which often even contradict each other!
Peter 1, traveling around Europe with the Great Embassy, ​​was very keenly interested in the local European arrangement, “cutting a window to Europe”, so to speak, including the sphere of monetary circulation. Having seen enough of the European monetary system based on gold and silver, Peter 1 decided to adapt it to Russian conditions. copper coins small denominations were introduced in 1700 to eliminate problems with the exchange of a silver wire penny (weight 0.3 gr.), which is why they had three fractional denominations less than a penny - ½, ¼ and 1/8. In the new monetary system, there was no place for a copper coin with a face value higher than money. Otherwise, there would have been situations of duplication of denominations that no one needed, and the memory of copper riot 1662 and its causes was still fresh.
And suddenly, just 4 years later, in 1704, a round copper penny appeared in the sphere of circulation, which duplicated the silver one for almost fifteen more years!
The first, at present, to appear at the auction is the “Big Penny” coin (letter “BK”) of 1704, and it has significant deviations in the norm from similar kopecks of this year:
1. The coin blank of an ordinary penny of 1704 has a diameter of 25 mm, and a large one - 30 mm (diameter, like that of a half fifty dollars);
2. The coin blank of an ordinary penny has a thickness of 2 mm, while the “big penny” is cut from a thin (half-dollar) strip only 1.3 mm thick.
Such deviations from technological norms and standards, converged in one coin, cannot be random. They indicate the minting of a given coin before the production of the necessary technical equipment and coin strips of the appropriate thickness.
One of the main specifications of a coin blank is its diameter, which is similar to the diameter of the hole in the tool for punching coin blanks. The presence at the mint of a tool for cutting a certain diameter, of course, affects the presence of a large number of simultaneously cut coins of a similar diameter.
Until 1707, no coins of the Embankment Mint issue on such large blanks are known. At least, I don't know anything about this. On such a basis as a large circle, we can say that the copper kopeck of 1704 was minted at another mint, which at that time already had an appropriate punching machine and minted half-fifty kopecks.
From this point of view, it can be assumed that the Kadashevsky Mint, which minted both silver and copper in 1704, is the most suitable mint for minting the Big Kopek. However, according to all sources found, kopecks with the letters "BK" and "MD" were not minted on it until 1713. It is clear that all approved stamping tools, except for punching, were transferred to the Naberezhny Mint for subsequent replication. Interestingly, during the reign of Peter Alekseevich, it was the Kadashevsky Mint from 1701 that was engaged in trial small-circulation minting of various new coins.
Only the absence of any intelligible documents does not allow us to assert that the unique “Big Kopeks” of 1704 “BK” and “MD” are proof prints of the approved sample, minted at the Kadashevsky Mint.
Since, today, there are much more copies minted on a large mug with the letter “BK”, their price is not very high, but a copy of a copper penny of 1704, minted on a large mug, with the letter “MD”, on Today, only one is known, and, accordingly, its price is 5 million rubles.
The price of 1 kopeck of 1704 with the letter "BK" is approximately $25,000 (775,000 rubles)

During the reign of Nicholas II, copper coins formed the basis of the country's monetary relations, and they were used for most small settlement transactions. They were issued annually in multi-million copies until 1917 in such denominations as 5 kopecks, 3 kopecks, 2 kopecks, 1 kopeck, 1/2 kopeck and 1/4 kopeck, according to the model established from the middle of the 19th century. Due to their frequent occurrence, they are not of particular interest to many collectors, although there are real rarities here. These include 5 kopecks and 3 kopecks of 1917, as well as 1/2 kopecks and 1/4 kopecks of 1894.

Copper coins in the everyday life of Russians at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries

Copper coins were a bargaining chip and formed the basis of the monetary relations of the common people living on the territory of the vast Russian Empire.

From copper in the foot of 50 rubles from a pood (16 kg), under Nicholas II, coins of 5 kopecks, 3 and 2 kopecks, 1 kopeck, as well as 1/2 and 1/4 kopecks were minted - according to the type of denominations that developed back in the 1860s years.

In addition to St. Petersburg mint in 1896-1898, copper fines (with the exception of 5 kopecks) were produced by the Birmingham Mint (Great Britain) by order of the government, and in 1899-1901 - by the private "Rosencrantz factory" in St. Petersburg. The mint mark is "S.P.B." - was placed on all coins, regardless of the real place of minting until 1914, after which the sign was abolished, and samples of coins without its designation were already issued.

Rosencrantz factory 1910s

What could have been done by any owner of such copper coins during the reign of Nicholas II? According to statistics recent years his reign (data taken from the Statistical Yearbook of Moscow. Issue 4. 1911-1913. - M., 1916.), prices in Moscow then correlated as follows:

• 1 kg of top-grade cereal cost approximately 17 kopecks, a measure of potatoes - 45 kopecks (1 measure is approximately equal to 1 pud), a pud (16 kg) of rye bread - 1 ruble 25 kopecks (1 loaf cost 3-5 kopecks);
• a pound (about 400 g) of first grade beef - 24 kopecks; a pound of veal - 37 kopecks; one chicken - 93 kopecks;
• a pound of butter - 50 kopecks, a bottle of milk - 8 kopecks;
• 1 glass of beer - 5 kopecks, 1 bottle of vodka (0.75 liters), "monopolka" - 35 kopecks, 1 glass ("scoundrel", approximately 60 milligrams) - 6 kopecks.

At the same time, any craftsman, bricklayer, carpenter or carpenter earned a little less than 2 rubles a day; day laborer (depending on the work performed) - from 40 kopecks to 1 ruble. Women were paid less.

Design of copper coins of Nicholas II

During the time of Nicholas II, the design of the coins remained almost unchanged in comparison with the issues of previous years. Only on the smallest copper coins - "money" and "polushka" (1/2 and 1/4 kopecks) the imperial monogram is changed, and the monogram "H II" is used, with the royal crown in ribbons and a wreath at the bottom. The reverse of these coins is characterized by maximum simplicity - the denomination number, two five-pointed decorative stars, the year of issue (before 1915 and the inscription S.P.B.), and decorative curlicues in the middle.

The design of the range of denominations from 5 to 1 kopeck will differ from appearance more small coins, although it is typical. On the obverse there is a double-headed eagle, around it there is an ornamental edging in the old Russian style with the inscriptions "RUSSIAN COPPER COIN", (above) and the denomination number and the word "KOPEEK" in letters (below, for example, "TWO KOPEIKS").

On the reverse - the denomination is already indicated by a number (for example, "3 KOPEEK") with two five-pointed decorative stars, under the vignette - the mint mark. The composition is framed by laurel and oak branches tied with a bow, the year of minting is indicated at the top. The edge of all copper coins is ribbed, although variants with a smooth edge are also known.

Description of denominations and current prices

5 kopecks. This denomination most of the time of the reign of the last emperor of Russia, was printed in silver. However, since 1911, due to another reform (and most likely, the desire of the government to save on precious metals), 5 kopecks began to be printed from copper. Such five-kopeck coins are interesting due to the fact that they were produced for only three years - in 1911, 1912 and 1916.

5 kopecks of 1911 were minted with a circulation of 4 million. pieces, and today, in the state of VF are estimated at between 5-10 dollars. 5 kopecks of 1912 are much less common, because. circulation that year amounted to about 3 million coins. They are also priced more expensive. Such an instance in VF condition is offered for 15-30 US dollars. 5 kopecks of 1916 are the most expensive, although their circulation that year was 8 million. In the preservation of VF one copy is estimated at - 50-80 US dollars. These coins were also issued in 1917, but were not put into circulation. Information about the circulation is also unknown, and such a copy is considered a real rarity.

3 kopecks. From 1895 to 1916, every year, a three-kopeck coin, convenient in monetary calculations, was minted in multi-million copies. How many copies were issued in 1917 is also unknown; in the catalogs they appear as extremely rare (R4 index according to Bitkin). The largest number was produced in 1916 - 25.6 million pieces.

The average value of such a coin is more difficult to determine, because The price range here is very large. In VF condition, 3 kopecks cost 3-10 dollars, in XF condition - from 5 to 30 dollars.

2 kopecks. "Dvushka" was minted under Nicholas II in the 19th century, minted only in 1895, and then every year from 1902 to 1917 inclusive (and here the situation is similar according to the circulation data).

In terms of value, this coin is also, in general, not particularly different. Coins are ordinary, it will not be difficult for any novice collector to find them in good condition at a small price. Approximate prices: F - $1-2; VF - $3-10; XF - $10-20.

1 kopeck. It was minted only in 1894-1895, then from 1902 until 1916. The circulation in each year has millions of copies, so the prices do not differ much. Similar to prices for 2 kopecks. Only copies of 1902 are valued more expensively, for the safety of VF you can get from 12 to 25 US dollars.

1/2 penny And 1/4 penny. The rarest semi- and quarter-penny coins date back to 1894, when Nicholas II had not yet been crowned. Apparently, they were minted quite a bit, the occurrence index according to Bitkin is R2, and the cost of such a coin reaches 1000 US dollars and even more.

Half kopecks were printed from 1894-95, and then annually from 1908-1916. inclusive. "Quarters" were minted for only 6 years - in 1894, 1895, 1909, 1910, 1915 and 1916. The main part of such coins does not have a high value: F - $ 1-3 VF - $ 3-5. Samples of 1900 and 1908 are estimated a little more expensive. - in VF condition - $5-15. Well, of course, the most expensive are two years - the first and last, 1895 (VF) - $ 15-25 and 1916 (VF) - more than 100 US dollars.