Every year the USSR is becoming more and more a thing of the past. And coins issued during the existence of the Soviet state are becoming more and more valuable. The most expensive coins of the USSR are in our rating: from gold and commemorative rubles to kopecks of absolutely non-kopeck value.
None of the coins of the USSR are included in the number most expensive coins in the world.
1 ducat issued in 1923
Can be sold for: 170,000 rubles.
The list of the most expensive Soviet coins opens with one of the oldest and most valuable in the literal sense of the word - a ducat made of real gold. It is also called the "sower" because of the corresponding image on the reverse. This coin weighed 8.6 grams, and the weight of pure gold was 7.742 grams.
Once the Soviet government planned to trade these banknotes, but the project was recognized as unprofitable, and the chervonets went to be melted down. There was more confidence in the "tsarist", pre-revolutionary gold on the international market than in the "Soviet" one. However, some copies have survived to this day.
2 kopecks, issue of 1963
Can be sold for: 200,000 rubles.
Coins from the period 1961 - 1991 are rarely valuable. Typically, these are either copies printed using a test stamp, presentation materials, or printing defects or confused stamps.
The value of the 1963 two-kopeck coin is the result of testing, when the mint was experimentally trying to find the optimal minting quality. Subsequently, coins began to be produced only with the use of a new stamp. But the "test" coins of 1963 (not to waste the good) also decided to put into circulation.
You can distinguish them by the following features: wide edging; a small gap between ears and edging; number two almost touches the letter "y" in the word "penny".
3 kopecks released in 1976
Can be sold for: 250,000 rubles.
But the coin in denomination of 3 kopecks issued in 1976 became valuable due to confused stamps. For some reason, her obverse is stamped with the usual "three-kopeck" stamp, but the reverse - with a stamp for coins worth 20 kopecks. One of these coins was put up for a numismatic auction in 2015 and, with an initial cost of 180 thousand rubles, “went under the hammer” for 240 thousand rubles. And over the years, it only becomes more expensive.
Such coins can be distinguished by the following features: flat, not concave, as usual, ribbons and ears without sharp edges (awns).
10 kopecks issued in 1946
Can be sold for: 300,000 rubles.
And this coin, for some reason, was struck with the use of the stamp used in the mid-thirties. Why this happened, no one will answer for sure. Probably, there was a breakdown of the working stamps at the beginning of the planning period, and for several days the minting took place using an outdated stamp. In the general mass, such banknotes are invisible, hardly anyone will count when shopping how many ribbons are wrapped around the ears on the obverse.
You can easily identify it, you just need to count the number of ribbons on the wreath - there are only seven of them. The coins issued with the modern stamp at that time had eleven ribbons.
20 kopecks issued in 1934
Can be sold for: 300,000 rubles.
In the early 30s, the artist-medalist Vasyutinsky was given the task of developing a new design of a twenty-kopeck cupronickel coin. However, it turned out to be impossible to organize mass production of coins according to these sketches - due to the high complexity of the design, the percentage of rejects during production was too high.
The matter ended with the fact that almost all the coins were melted down, and from the mid-30s a new design was adopted. Officially, there are only two coins left, both are in museums. True, twenty years later, by order of Khrushchev, several new copies were minted that were included in the collection sets.
1 kopeck of 1957
Can be sold for: 300,000 rubles.
Once the number of "sister republics" in the USSR reached 16, but after the termination of the existence of the Karelo-Finnish SSR, their number became one less.
However, the mint did not have time to react to this change in time - this is how a rare copy of a 1 kopeck coin, but with 16 ribbons instead of 15 on the obverse, entered circulation.
5 kopecks produced in 1990
Can be sold for: 390,000 rubles.
Manufactured defective coins are among the rarest and most valuable pieces in any collection; after all, marriage implies uniqueness and a small number of copies. One example is 5 kopecks, for some reason printed on a bimetallic blank weighing 4.71 g.
So far, only one such coin is known. In thickness and rim, it is identical to the 5-kopeck coins issued in 1990.
In 2016, the starting price of such a coin at the Rare Coins AD auction was $ 6,500.
Anniversary ruble of 1977
Can be sold for: 1 million rubles.
The legendary ruble, known to every numismatist and not only. The history of its appearance is anecdotal. In 1977, for the anniversary of the revolution, it was decided to issue a jubilee ruble. Its decor reflected the signs of the times, one of which is the sign of the atom. However, vigilant citizens counted the number of "rays" in the intersection of the orbits of three electrons and realized that under the guise of a sign of progress, in fact, the cunning Zionists were sneaking in their "Star of David". And this is next to the portrait of Comrade Lenin!
As a result, the stamp was changed, the artist V.P. Zaitsev and the author of the sculpting A.V. Kozlov were summoned "to the carpet" in Smolny and, even there are rumors, they put several people involved in the issue of the coin. And almost all of the original copies were melted down. Only a few coins with "Mogendovid" managed to avoid destruction.
However, the new design of the coin was not much better than the previous one. Instead of the "Star of David", an image appeared right in front of the leader of the world proletariat, whose contours very much resembled a figurine.
Set of coins issued in 1958 in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 kopecks
Can be sold for: 1 million 500 thousand rubles.
These coins were printed shortly before the 1961 reform and differed in exchange rate from the little things that already existed at that time. It was planned to use them when selling through vending machines, but later, due to the inevitable confusion that arose in the existence of coins with one digit, but with different values, it was decided to abandon the idea. And later, a reform broke out that completely changed the entire system of small money.
Some coins of small denomination (from 1 to 10 kopecks) nevertheless ended up in circulation, while larger ones were melted down. True, they managed to save something, and now these are the most expensive items from the entire collection.
Set of coins issued in 1947 in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 kopecks
Can be sold for: 15 million rubles.
But the coins of 1947 were less fortunate than most of the copies in our rating. Once upon a time, in preparation for post-war monetary reform, a number of test paper notes and metal coins were printed. They saw the light for the first and last time at the demonstration stands - for some reason it was decided to refuse to issue coins, and all copies were melted down.
Only a few of the demos survived; some of them still retain traces of solder, with which they were attached to the stand. Therefore, the price of both individual coins and the entire set is very high. One such set in 2008 was sold at an international auction for 217 thousand euros. For comparison: the most valuable coin of modern Russia estimated at 300 thousand rubles.
There is also information that a trial ruble was issued. However, it was not put up for sale and even its images are not.
Sometimes fraudsters deceive novice numismatists by selling them coins with 15 bands on the coat of arms, and accompanying them with a story that such banknotes were destroyed due to the wrong number of ribbons. But the originals from the auctions show that rare coins of 1947 should have 16 ribbons, not 15.
Now coins from the times of the USSR can be found in large quantities only among elderly people, who have carefully preserved a tiny part of a bygone era. Or you can look for luck in the flea markets, perhaps the happiness of owning a rare and valuable coin will smile at you. And some even stock up on metal detectors and check abandoned houses, beaches, wells, etc. in search of coins. Whichever method you choose, we wish you successful searches.