Coins of the Soviet Union and modern Russia: what metal are coins made of, their features and varieties

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The production of money on the territory of our country at all times was associated with a number of difficulties: the economy either developed or collapsed sharply, dragging faith in the Russian currency to the bottom, giving rise to massive disbelief in it and inflation. It is now that we have clear state standards for production and minting, all reforms are taking place gradually and accurately, but during the times of revolutions, civil and world wars, the question of what metal coins are made of in our country went by the wayside, and all decisions, with related to this, were taken as if in the form of experiments.

Coins of the times of the Soviet Union

Coins of the USSR for a long time after the revolution could not establish themselves in society, depreciation continued until the revival of the State Bank in 1922year. In the course were popular chervonets, backed by gold. 1 chervonets was equal to 7.74 g of gold. It was customary to take 10 Nikolaev rubles as a basis for manufacturing. Only the design has been changed. We know from what metal the coins were made in the USSR, given that the Nikolaev coins were made from silver and gold. Paper money was also in use. Gold was used for minting only until 1924, since the government decided to keep gold and foreign exchange reserves, but now the image has become completely different: the coat of arms of the USSR was depicted on the obverse, and the denomination remained unchanged on the reverse.

Coin production in the USSR

Coins of different denominations were minted at the Petrograd Mint, ranging from 10 kopecks to the ruble, which did not differ from the royal ones in shape, but with Soviet symbols. In addition, a plant called Krasnaya Zarya successfully operated in Petrograd, but these capacities were not enough, and it was decided to send an order to London and Birmingham to produce part of the fifty-kopeck run. In the future, it was decided to abandon the production of ruble coins and fifty dollars.

Over time, when minting coins, cheaper metals began to consistently crowd out each other. First, copper replaced gold and silver, then bronze replaced copper banknotes. The size of the coin also changed - it became smaller, and then completely became a metal prototype of a paper bill.

Appearance and features of Russian coins

In the entire history of modern Russia, the type of coins changed only once during the monetary reform of 1998year.

What metal the coins of 10 rubles are made of, it will become clear only when you look at it more closely: it is coated with paint, which makes it look like it is gilded. This technique was probably used to give it significance in the face of society: the authorities hinted at a commitment to gold, and the renewal of banknotes was necessary to match the style of money with the spirit of the times. The same applies to kopecks in denominations of 10 and 50, the rest of the coins were the color of silver - the symbol of Tsarist Russia.

Production of Russian coins

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1993, coins of new denominations were introduced, such as 10, 20, 50 and 100 rubles. The minting of coins in denominations of 1 and 5 rubles was resumed, but using a new technology - steel was taken as the base metal, and the coin was covered with brass. They were produced by the Moscow and Leningrad mints, so the letters "M" and "L" were put on the copies, denoting the city in which they were released. From what metal coins were made in Russia at that time, it is impossible to say specifically, since, for example, 10 and 20 rubles were minted from a copper-nickel alloy, then from steel and nickel, and aluminum bronze was added to the center of the 50-ruble coin. Coins of 1992-1993 were withdrawn from circulation in connection with the new monetary reform - until December 31, 2002 they could be exchanged for new ones.

The 1998 reform approved the denominations of coins 1, 5,10 and 50 kopecks, 1, 2, 5 and 10 rubles with a new look. Their composition and now includes such metals as steel, brass, copper, nickel and their alloys. Coins are additionally plated with brass and nickel.

Custom design coins

In our country, there are a lot of small and large enterprises engaged in the manufacture of custom-made coins of any size and shape. It is inappropriate to find out what metal coins of 5 rubles are made of from these firms, since these copies cannot be used as a means of payment. Making coins identical to legal tender is tantamount to breaking the law for counterfeiting.

What metal are custom-made coins made of? Basically, copper is very popular - it is cheaper and in no way inferior in quality to other metals. Moreover, if you order production in large quantities, then you should absolutely not forget about savings.

But not all custom-made coins cannot be legal tender. In order to improve the literacy of the population and preserve national identity, the state has been issuing metal money with images of historical monuments and respected personalities since the times of the USSR.

2018 FIFA World Cup Coins

An example of an individual design coin can be a collector's item created for the World Championship held in Russia. By color, it becomes clear what metal the coins of the main football tournament were made of -of silver and gold.

The denomination of the coin is 25 rubles, the rest are issued in the form of banknotes. The images are minted completely different: some have the names of cities printed on them, some have the symbols of the tournament. The price of the latter is much higher, since they are official and issued by the Bank of Russia. Coins produced by third-party companies, including foreign ones, are 2-3 times cheaper.