Scottish Coins |
Siberian Coinage 1764-1781Siberia is stereotypically viewed as a cold and snowy expanse of desolation. However in reality it is a vast land that varies from desert to high mountains, and varied climates from temperate to very cold. This huge land took several hundred years to settle from the west of Russia, largely beginning in the 16th century and continuing on through the 20th century. Siberia has a wealth of minerals, oil, timber etc. that insure continued development. Siberia was settled by political, economic and religious refugees from Russia, and Ukraine. The vast distances which encumbered this remarkable land often troubled the quick transport of goods etc from the west of Russia to the east of Siberia. In fact Siberia was only successfully traversed by a transcontinental railroad completed in 1905. Prior to this the only means of travel were by primitive means including horse drawn carriages and of course by foot. Because of the difficulty in transportation, settlers in Siberia were often isolated from what was happening in the west. It was not uncommon for Edicts from Ekaterina II(Catherine The Great to westerners) to take over a year to reach the far outposts of Siberia. Of course coinage also often traveled to the west to purchase needed goods, and did not come back. This brought about a coin shortage which was exasperated by the distance from the mints in the west. In 1763 Ekaterina II(Catherine II, The Great) authorised the minting of a local coinage to supplement the few Russian coins in circulation. These would be minted in Kolyvan, now Souzan. These new coins were copper and denominated from 1/4 Kopek, or Polushka to 10 Kopeks. Initially there were plans to mint coins in larger denominations and patterns were struck for silver coins, however they never made it past the planning stage. The coins which were issued bear the cipher of Ekaterina II on the obverse and the reverse a coat of arms with two sables a crown and a shield bearing the denomination of the coin and the date. The legend around the perimeter is "Sibirskaya Moneta" or Siberian Coin. The pattern silver coins had similar arms, though with two crossed arrows. One of the most curious features of these coins in comparison to their Russian contemporaries is their notable diminutive size. One of the challenges faced by the mint in Kolyvan was the refining of the metal, because of the cruder technology available there, they could not remove trace amounts of gold and silver which were in the copper alloy of the coinage, because of this, the coins were made in a smaller size to account for the difference in value to their Russian counterparts. These coins continued to be minted through 1781, at which time new technology became available and this unique coinage was discontinued. New coins, now not differing from the Russian coins issued in the west began to be issued bearing the mintmark KM which was also used on the Siberian coins. Siberian coins continued to circulate well into the 19th century, and in fact some have been found in Alaska, and quite remarkably at Ft. Ross, a Russian settlement in California. Denominations used in Siberia:Copper:Polushka or 1/4 Kopeck:
Minted from 1766-1779, 1766 dated coin is very scarce.Denga or 1/2 Kopek:
Minted from 1764-1779, 1764 and 1766 coins are very rare.Kopek:
Minted from 1764-1779, 1764(pattern), 1766 and 1767 coins are rare.2 Kopeks:
Minted from 1764-1779, 1764(pattern) is very rare, 1766 and 1767 coins are scarce.5 Kopeks:
Minted from 1763-1780, 1763, 1764, and 1766(patterns) coins are very rare, 1780 is scarce.10 Kopeks:
Minted from 1763-1781, 1763 and 1764(patterns) coins are very rare, 1766, 1767 KM, and 1781 coins are scarce.Silver:10 Kopeks :Dated 1764 only, pattern - novodel made for later collectors during the 19th century.15 Kopeks :Dated 1764 only, pattern - novodel made for later collectors during the 19th century.20 Kopeks :Dated 1764 only, pattern - novodel made for later collectors during the 19th century.Novodels are technically official restrikes, believed to have been made for 19th century Russian collectors by the Imperial Mint, they are noticeably different in the stronger strike, better metallurgy, and mostly of course in the finer oblique milling or reeding on the edges of the coins, the 1 Kopek coin featured in the picture at the left illustrates an example of a "Novodel". Novodels are known for most dates in the series of Siberian coins. As noted above there were plans for a larger denomination coinage, particularly the 10, 15 and 20 Kopek denominations, in 1764 examples were struck of each of these denominations, however in the end they were not used. These larger denomination coins featured a portrait of Tsarina Ekaterina(Catherine II, The Great); and a different sable, Imperial Crown, and arrows emblem on the reverse of the coins. Few examples are known of this silver coinage, and they are extremely rare. Collectors should note that there are numerous forgeries, mostly quite recent, which have been appearing in online auction venues such as eBay and Yahoo.com auctions. Characteristics of these forgeries are softer designs, some of which have a cast appearance, poor milling on the edges, in addition to a false appearing tone. These forgeries are created solely to deceive collectors, and seem to originate in Russia, though most of the outlets for these seem to be in the Baltic nations of Estonia, and Latvia as well as Israel. Collectors should closely examine examples of these coins being offered for sale, particularly when the sellers are in the former mentioned countries, I have not seen an authentic coin being offered from any of said sellers at all. Siberian coinage reflects an early time in Siberia, when that part of Russia was viewed as a harsh and desolate land to send undesirable people to. However in 21st century Siberia, with it's vast mineral and natural resource wealth, holds much promise to a Russia searching for freedom and economic prosperity. |
Page last updated on 1st January 2011 Года All pages and images copyright © David Parrish 1999 - 2011 Года
