To compile a catalog of the most expensive coins of Tsarist Russia, you need to work hard. As a country with a rich and dramatic history, Russia has rich numismatics. In different historical periods There were many mints that produced unique coinage, both from precious metals and from practical and inexpensive alloys.
Despite numerous attempts to erase metal money from a particular era from history, examples have been preserved that are worth a lot of money today.
Conventionally, the most expensive and valuable coins can be divided into several categories:
- Medieval.
- Coins of Tsarist Russia.
Considering the dependence of the price on the age and circulation of the coin, it is obvious that ancient coins are the most expensive. Coins of Tsarist Russia are known throughout the world, and foreigners often become their owners in 2018-2019.
Soviet coins do not belong to ancient times, but among them there are copies whose cost exceeds a million rubles. Let's name the 10 most valuable coins that circulated in Tsarist Russia.
This silver ruble was made during the reign of Anna Ioanovna, when the mass minting of coins from portraits of the new ruler began. This ruble is called “Anna with a Chain,” although this attribute is absent from the portrait of the Empress on the obverse.
This chain was introduced into the Russian imperial regalia by Anna Ioanovna, who received it as a gift on one significant day. When the future empress entered the Moscow gates, Count Galushkin paid respects to the Supreme privy council an unusual gift- gold chain. Anna Ioanovna liked this gift, and she did not part with it throughout the entire celebration dedicated to the coronation.
This is what a 1 ruble coin from 1730 looks like
On the obverse of the coin, the profile of the great niece of Peter I is minted. On the reverse, the heraldic symbol of Russia is a double-headed eagle with an orb and a staff in its claws, its image is surrounded by the same chain of the Order of St. Andrew the Primordial, which has since become an integral part of subsequent coronations.
The cost of the first of the 10 most expensive domestic coins in 2017 rose to 18,500,000 rubles. The fate of only 3 copies is known, one of which is kept in the Hermitage, the other in the Smithsonian Institution and the third in private collection.
One ruble 1705
At the beginning of the 18th century in Russia, Peter I ordered the minting of silver coins. They began to be produced, taking a sample from the Poles, then using the thaler.
They didn’t melt them down then and simply minted them “for real”, changing their nationality under pressure. At one of the auctions, a coin with a date defect was found and was sold for 1.5 million rubles, when a coin of the same year was sold for only 400,000 rubles.
20 rubles 1755
The so-called “Elizabeth Gold” became a profitable investment for its owner. Back in 1950, he bought the coin at a Christie's auction for only $400. Surely he did not expect that in 2008 he would sell it for £1,550,000! Moreover, the value of the coin was established not by the owner, but by experts. Despite the fact that this is one of the ten most expensive coins, a buyer was found.
The coin is called “Elizabeth Gold” because it was minted at the dawn of the reign of Empress Elizabeth. The minting of coins underwent reforms, not all of which were implemented.
Appearance of the gold coin 20 rubles 1755
For example, this double chervonets, issued by the St. Petersburg Mint in a test copy. The peculiarity of this gold is its quality - uncirculated. The coin never came into circulation. The first reason is that it was a trial copy. A coin with a face value of 20 rubles was planned for release to increase circulation.
The second reason is that the denomination was not approved. Despite this, a similar artistic design was used for the chervonets.
As is typical for coins of Tsarist Russia, this 20-ruble coin consists of pure gold (33 grams). Double chervonets were no longer issued, and only 2 copies have survived to this day, one of which is kept in the Hermitage, and the other was sold by the descendants of Prince Georgy Mikhailovich in the middle of the 20th century.
One ruble 1806
The rarest coin of 1806 with a denomination of 1 ruble went from auction for 1.55 million rubles and this is easy to explain, because there were only 30 such coins! Alexander I abandoned his image on coins. But as an experiment, several coins and medals were made. The ruble depicts the profile of the great emperor and a double-headed eagle on the reverse side.
Silver ruble 1825
WITH mystical story related to another one of the numismatic rarities of Russia. As a rule, the obverses of ancient coins are engraved with the profiles of emperors. What to say about the Konstantinovsky ruble in this case is unknown. On the obverse of the silver coin there is a male profile, and a circular inscription: “B.M. CONSTANTINE IMP. AND HIMSELF. ALL-RUSSIA.” But there was no Emperor Constantine in Russian history!
It turned out that there are only 6 such coins, and they were issued as test copies.
An example of a silver ruble from 1825
Konstantin Pavlovich was supposed to ascend the throne after Alexander I, which was legally confirmed. However, the emperor recognized Nicholas as the heir to the throne, and after his death, Constantine had problems with assuming the rights of the emperor.
In a short period of time, while Konstantin Pavlovich took the oath from his subjects and was preparing to ascend the throne, several coins with his profile were minted. Their presence remained a mystery. Since 1825, the coins were secretly kept in the Ministry of Finance, and only in 1880 were transferred to the Romanov family.
Half of the coins are kept in private foreign collections. Their cost of more than $100,000 gives every reason to believe that this is one of the 10 most valuable and expensive Russian coins.
One ruble 1861
In 1861 there were quite a lot of such coins, approximately more than 70 thousand pieces. And today there are only a few such coins left.
This ruble is included in the list of the most expensive coins Russian Empire, after it was sold in our country at auction for 1.4 million rubles. Well, that’s not bad for one ruble, is it?
Copper penny of Peter I
The situation with the production of coins became more complicated due to the depletion of gold and silver reserves when Peter I became Emperor of Russia. The reform of the monetary circulation system led to the appearance of many rare specimens. In particular, the appearance of this copper penny occurred as a result of reforms.
Copper pennies came into circulation in large quantities. But there was no single model of coinage, so the catalog contains many options for different layouts of the obverse and reverse of Peter the Great’s coins. Most of them are minted with the letters “BK”, which means “big treasury”. 
In 1705, the minting of copper kopecks began at the Kadashevsky Mint with the letters “MD”. The issue of coins dates back to 1704. Probably, varieties of coins according to decoration too much, but this moment There is one kopeck with the letters “MD”, which we also include in the list of the 10 most expensive coins of Tsarist Russia. It is valued at a minimum of $140,000.
Do you know that Russia is the only country that minted platinum coins in regular circulation? Similar attempts were made only in Great Britain, which, however, limited itself to a few test copies.
As for the Russian Empire, the minting of platinum coins in denominations of 3 rubles, 6 rubles and 12 rubles took 16 years, from 1829.
In 1836, only 11 12-ruble coins were issued. The small circulation made the coin one of the most expensive to date. Despite the fact that, by order of collectors in the second half of the 19th century. Several more copies were made, the value of the originals is steadily growing. If in 2008 at the Bonhams auction one of the famous specimens was sold for approximately 3,000,000 rubles, then in 2017 its value reached 5,650,000 rubles.
Coins of this type went into circulation in millions of copies in 1896-1911. during the reign of Nicholas II. But why only 10 of them were produced in 1906, and 109 in 1907, remains unknown. It must be said that these 109 pieces were not intended to participate in monetary circulation.
They were minted for use in the foundation ceremony of the Church of the Holy Blessed Princess Olga on the territory of the Horse Regiment camp. And the foundation of the temple was carried out on the day of the 100th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon’s troops near Friedland.
During the solemn ceremony, 100 coins were laid into the foundation of the church, which, as you understand, disappeared from history forever. The remaining 9 were distributed to the participants of the ceremony, and now appear at auctions from time to time.
A 5-ruble coin from 1907 is 4.3 g of pure gold worth 2,700,000-4,350,000 rubles, depending on condition. On the obverse, according to the traditions of Tsarist Russia, the profile of Nicholas II is engraved; on the reverse, the majestic Russian coat of arms and the denomination below it are minted. Only due to the small circulation, the coin entered the list of the 10 most valuable coins.
1 kopeck 1726
There has never been such a coin in the entire history of Tsarist Russia. This copper penny broke stereotypes about shape metal money. Maybe in some countries square coins were in circulation, but for Russia this very rare! The weight of the coin is 16.38 g, so it is also the heaviest penny, in addition to the fact that it is among the 10 most expensive coins.
How can we explain the appearance of such a coin? After the death of Peter I, Catherine ascended the throne. The shortage of precious metals had reached its peak by that time, so monetary reforms minting of coins. Now they were made from cheap Ural copper.
This is what a square copper penny of 1726 looks like
It was in this era that a ruble weighing 1.6 kg of the same square shape and many other equally bizarre metal money were minted.
Just look at the catalog to get acquainted with them. And square Catherine rubles are sold for at least 2,000,000 rubles; in the future, the value is expected to increase.
We are accustomed to the fact that metal money should be round. However, there was a time when unusual coins were minted in Russia - square ones.
Way out of the crisis
Catherine I, who ascended the throne after the death of Peter the Great, inherited a difficult inheritance. North War, which lasted twenty-one years, brought finances into complete disorder. To cover the huge payment deficit, it was necessary to issue lightweight and low-grade silver money, which was called “Menshikovsky” - in honor of the all-powerful favorite of the empress and the de facto ruler of the state, Alexander Menshikov. But the people did not trust this money.
There was a catastrophic shortage of silver and gold to produce the required quantity of full-weight coins. And then someone from the empress’s entourage remembered that copper mining was increasing in the Urals. And he suggested replacing silver coins with copper ones. An example was Sweden, where copper money was in use since mid-17th century century.
According to the advisers of Catherine I, the issue of copper coins made it possible to reduce the state's expenses for the purchase of expensive silver. In addition, Ural copper was much cheaper than Hungarian and Swedish copper purchased abroad.
On February 4, 1726, the Empress, by a special decree, ordered the minting of copper coins to begin. These coins were unusual shape- not round, but square. They are called "boards". Money of this form was minted in Sweden. So the experiment was based on foreign experience.
At that time, a huge amount of copper money circulated throughout Russia, but almost half of it was counterfeit. New coins were made from pure red copper. This was done by the Yekaterinburg Mint.
The experiment failed
The weight of the new money was surprising. One square copper ruble weighed 1.6 kg. Poltina - 800 g, half-poltina - 400 g, hryvnia (10 kopecks) - 160 g, 5 kopecks -80 g, 1 kopeck -16 g. The main circulation of copper board coins was minted in 1726, on total amount 38,730 rubles.
Square boards didn't catch on. First of all, because of their weight. The new money turned out to be simply untransportable. Imagine: carrying around several rubles, each of which weighs one and a half kilograms. For that kind of money you need not a wallet, but a bag.
True, the decree on the minting of boards stated that they could be exchanged for bills. But the bills did not inspire the slightest confidence among the people.
In general, square, heavy coins turned out to be of no use to merchants, peasants, or service people. The government tried to use coercive measures. And they even issued a special decree to punish those who do not want to accept square money for payment. But after a few months it became obvious that the treasury received much less income from the issue of payment money than from the small round coins issued at the same time.
They decided to end the experiment. On December 30, 1726, the mint in Yekaterinburg was ordered to stop producing square money. The payments remaining in the hands of the population were exchanged and minted into small round money.
Now the square coins of Catherine I are a numismatic rarity and are among the ten most expensive Russian coins.
Most of the coins of Catherine's time were minted in St. Petersburg. In those same years, monetary production expanded beyond the boundaries of the old and new capitals, and many interesting samples were produced in Yekaterinburg.
The city in the Urals was founded during the life of Peter I. At the same time, large-scale construction of Ural factories began under the leadership of the most literate and educated “chicks of Petrov’s nest,” in particular Vasily Tatishchev and Willim Gennin.
The Tsar, who understood the importance of the mining industry for the state, granted broad powers and all kinds of benefits to those who took on this complex and at that time poorly developed business in Russia. State-owned factories were transferred on preferential terms to merchants and industrialists, who were allowed to buy serfs “for enterprises.” A striking example- the Demidov family, who won the trust of Peter and earned huge capital thanks to their Ural factories, including Nevyansky.
Advanced European methods of metal smelting were introduced in the Urals. In June 1725, a special Senate decree ordered the production of boards (square plates) of various denominations from Ekaterinburg copper. The history of the Yekaterinburg Mint (then still a payment yard) began with them.
The first boards were made as a sample at the Yegoshikha copper smelter in the future Perm, and in January 1726, the minting of square money began in a small building of the platform yard, built on the banks of the Iset River in Yekaterinburg.
Most likely, Peter I, who loved to bring foreign wonders he liked to Russian soil, was thinking about producing boards. Swedish money could serve as a model for Ekaterinburg boards. Many researchers support the version that shortly before his death the tsar expressed his will regarding the production of full-fledged copper coins per foot of ten rubles from a pood in exchange for too large mass an inconvenient copper trifle, and during the reign of Catherine his will was carried out.
Initially, boards were issued in denominations of the ruble, half, half, half, hryvnia, later they were added to the nickel and kopeck. The meaning of the introduction of these banknotes was primarily in their strict weight compliance with the declared ruble foot. But the Yekaterinburg boards, heavy and bulky, did not live up to the hopes placed on them, and already at the beginning of 1727 their production ceased.
It is possible that the minting of boards in Yekaterinburg was also part of the unsuccessful reform of A.D. Menshikov, who planned to replace silver money with copper. On the other hand, there are references to the fact that Alexander Danilovich was against their release and initiated its termination. One way or another, in December 1726, Catherine signed a decree stopping the production of boards, and since Menshikov’s influence on the empress was great, it is unlikely that she would have made this serious decision contrary to his opinion. Most likely, Menshikov and Tatishchev simply recognized the inexpediency of minting square money.
The Yekaterinburg Plat Yard switched to producing copper coin circles - blanks for the Moscow Mint. Later, the Ural enterprise began manufacturing copper utensils and bells. Coin production in Yekaterinburg resumed under Anna Ioannovna, and this was already full cycle: smelting, rolling copper sheets, cutting circles, rolling, chasing. But the official title of a mint was awarded to the enterprise only in 1763, when a special building was built for it in Yekaterinburg, and the production of coins was separated from other production.
The ruble is the largest and heaviest of the Ekaterinburg boards. It weighed 1638 grams with a side length of 188 millimeters. In the corners of the square there were four round stamps with a double-headed eagle - the standard obverse of ordinary coins; in the center there was another stamp with the words “price ruble”, “Ekaterinburg” and the year.
The smallest in the series of square money (and at the same time the largest penny coin in the history of Russia) there was a kopeck: weight - 16.38 grams, size - 23 × 23 millimeters (there are also small specimens bigger size). Numismatists know of the only surviving copy of a square ruble (in catalogues, this coin is considered one of a kind), and several kopecks have survived to this day; they are considered the rarest.
Sometimes, very rarely, square coins of Russia or, as they were also called, copper plates, which were minted in 1725-1727, appear at auctions. The prerequisite for issuing copper money instead of the usual silver was a shortage of silver due to reforms that began immediately everywhere. All this required large financial investments, and the king was looking for an alternative replacement for silver. At the same time, the extraction of red copper in the Urals increased and even an excess of this metal formed. In Europe, the circulation of copper money was accepted long ago and Peter sent to Sweden a reliable and honest government official who also had experience in mining, Vasily Tatishchev. In Sweden, Tatishchev gets acquainted with the principles of Swedish monetary system, in which copper money was issued in the form of copper squares for more than fifty years. The denomination of these coins was approximately equal to the cost of the copper that went into their production, so such copper money was a full-fledged monetary unit.
Unfortunately, during his lifetime Peter did not have time to implement this idea. The decree on the minting of copper coins was signed in 1725 and the Yekaterinburg mining factories began minting new money, in denominations from hryvnia to ruble, from their own red copper, one pood of which cost only 10 rubles, which was much cheaper than Hungarian and Swedish.
To organize the minting of copper processing, the Swedish master Deichman went to the Urals together with his assistant, mining master Gordeev. The chief manager of the state-owned factories of the Urals, Villim Genin, was assigned to control such an important state undertaking.
Russian square coins were minted in the form of copper plates, which had only a one-sided image. On the front side, in the corners, double-headed eagles with three crowns were depicted. The bodies of the eagles were depicted in the form of a shield, on which Catherine’s monogram was depicted, containing the letters J J and E. The eagles held a scepter and an orb in their paws.
In the center of the platinum there is an imprint with the denomination of the coin, the year of minting and the place of issue. WITH reverse side the coin was smooth. The bulk of the circulation was printed in 1726 in the amount of 38,730 rubles. In the same year, square coins of nickels and kopecks were issued, which differed somewhat in the design on the obverse from the ruble coins.
Square coins with a ruble denomination were minted for two years, in 1725 and 1726, the size was 188 * 188 mm and weighed 1.636 kg. Poltina weighed 800g and was produced during 1726. The half-poltina had four varieties, was produced in 1725 and 1726, and weighed 400 grams.
Copper plates of square coins with a denomination of 1 hryvnia were minted from 1725 to 1727. The size of the copper kopecks was 62*62 mm, weight - 163.8 g. In 1726, 6 varieties of hryvnia were minted, so they became the most common square coins, accounting for about 80% of all copper plates issued under Catherine I.
had two varieties measuring 23*23 mm and weighing 16.38 g. There were three varieties of nickels, measuring 45*45mm and weighing 105.95 grams. These are the rarest coins; they were issued in the amount of 43 rubles and 51 kopecks.
Square coins never became full-fledged money, although there were all the prerequisites for this, and on December 31, 1726, Catherine I issued a decree to stop the production of copper plates and withdraw minted ones from circulation. Subsequently, the square copper money was sent to be melted down to produce the 1730 money.
Very few of these square coins have survived to this day; almost all of them have become numismatic rarities and exclusives.
The fact that coins can be square is not news. Back in the 16th-17th centuries, square clips were used in Sweden. For example, one daler (as thalers were called in Swedish) made of copper was a fairly large tile weighing 1 kg 350 g. There were also gold clips - smaller in size. Scientists believe that these coins began to be produced due to a shortage of silver. That is, these slabs were, as it were, the predecessors of paper money.
Swedish clips from the treasure found in 2012
In Russia during the time of Peter the Great, silver was required even more than in Sweden. Peter's reforms, creation new army and fleet, the construction of St. Petersburg required huge financial investments. There was almost nowhere to take them from: the peasantry was ruined, the boyars were protesting and were in no hurry to share their acquired wealth. And the clergy even bury their wealth so that it does not go to the emperor. For example, the monks of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra walled up 27 kg of gold and 272 kg of silver in the monastery wall. This treasure lay useless for about 200 years.
So, after the death of Peter I, the problems with the finances of the Russian Empire did not disappear. Catherine I could not solve them with her own hands. Her advisors suggested a way out. The fact is that at that time in the Urals the production of red copper increased from year to year. That's why it was decided to replace silver coin for copper - according to the Swedish model.
As a result, on February 4, 1726, Catherine I issued a Decree on minting at the Siberian state factories: “to make boards from pure red copper and brand the price in the middle and a coat of arms on each corner.”
This is how square copper board coins were born, finding which is a huge success for every search engine. After all, such “squares” are included in the top 10 most expensive coins in Russia. The cost of kopecks, for example, starts from 60 thousand rubles.
The minting of unusual coins began in 1726 at the Yekaterininburg Mint.
- 1 ruble made of copper weighed 1.6 kg.
- Poltina (50 kopecks) - 800 grams.
- Half a half - 400 grams.
- Hryvnia (10 kopecks) - 160 grams.
- 5 kopecks - 80 grams.
- 1 kopeck - 16 grams.
At the same time, there were 4 varieties of half-poltinas, 6 hryvnias, 3 five-kopeck plats, and 2 kopeck plats. They differed either in the number of feathers in the eagle’s tail, or in the size of the image of St. George, or instead of St. George there was a monogram on the eagle’s chest.
Square money of Russia
After the mass minting of such full-weight coins, it turned out that as a means of payment they were non-transportable and limited in mobility. Imagine what it was like to carry around several 1.6 kg circuit boards! The population, of course, did not approve of all these innovations. Until now, people continued to circulate “pre-Petrine” silver kopecks-scales, which could be sewn into the seam of clothing or simply hidden behind the cheek.
A year later, it became clear that after the introduction of the heavy copper coin into monetary use, the treasury received significantly less income - compared to the income from the parallel copper round coin issued. Therefore, the experiment was stopped, the Yekaterinburg Mint was completely closed, and round copper coins were ordered to be minted from already minted copper plates. Payments were exchanged with the population and re-minted. Only a few test hryvnias crossed the line of the new year, 1727, to become the last copies of the square coin.
This is why square Russian coins are so rare. And one such coin can decorate a world-class numismatist’s collection, and for a treasure hunter it can become a very pleasant find.
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