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10 Roubles (2/3 Imperial) 1898-1911


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908226.jpg

10 Roubles 1903 AP

 

During the days of stable currency and gold-standard, the 10 Rouble was the second largest regular gold-coin of Russia. It was a part of a series which consisted of 5, 7½, 10 and 15 Rouble coins. 7½ and 15 Roubles were same size as the older 5 and 10 Roubles(20 & 40 francs) and they were made in one year only, 1897, in quite large quantity though. The coins depict emperor Nicholas II and Russian imperial eagle.

 

These are quite common, and are often used as bullion by investors. There are some rare dates though.

 

Composition: Gold 900/000

Weight: 8,6g

Diameter: 22 mm

Mintmasters:

АГ = Apolon Grasgov (1883-1899)

ФЗ = Felix Zahleman (1899-1901)

ЭБ = Elikum Babajants (1899, 1906-1913)

AP = Alexander Redko (1901-1905)

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Thanks. I already had one 10 rouble but it isn't nearly as gorgeous as this one. Now I need the 7½ and 15 roubles... I think the 15R is a bit too pricey for me at the moment, but the 7½R should be affordable.

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  • 3 years later...
908226.jpg

10 Roubles 1903 AP

 

During the days of stable currency and gold-standard, the 10 Rouble was the second largest regular gold-coin of Russia. It was a part of a series which consisted of 5, 7½, 10 and 15 Rouble coins. 7½ and 15 Roubles were same size as the older 5 and 10 Roubles(20 & 40 francs) and they were made in one year only, 1897, in quite large quantity though. The coins depict emperor Nicholas II and Russian imperial eagle.

 

These are quite common, and are often used as bullion by investors. There are some rare dates though.

 

Composition: Gold 900/000

Weight: 8,6g

Diameter: 22 mm

Mintmasters:

АГ = Apolon Grasgov (1883-1899)

ФЗ = Felix Zahleman (1899-1901)

ЭБ = Elikum Babajants (1899, 1906-1913)

AP = Alexander Redko (1901-1905)

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how can one find out if these coins are real and what's their value? sorry, I'm new to coins but happened to own few.

Hello vera, and welcome to Coin People! :ninja:

 

You should first of all weigh each coin with scales accurate at least to 0.1 gram (i.e. not ordinary kitchen scales, but you can buy cheap scales from most coin dealers). The weight was very standardized by 1898 and should be very close to 8.6 g coin weight. Weighing on scales which are accurate to 1/10 gram, it should show exactly that value; on scales which are accurate to 1/100 gram, you might see 8.59 or 8.61 or something like that. Since the gold content is 0.900 fine, the fine gold weight would be 90% of that value -- sometimes one sees coins which are slightly over- or under-weight, but never by more than 0.05 grams except in very rare cases, or in cases where a coin has been filed or used as jewelry (there are lots of those on the market, unfortunately).

 

Look at the mintmaster initials on the rim ... certain years have different mintmasters, e.g. 1903 will always show (A.P) for Alexander Redko. Some years have two possible mintmasters, others even three. Check your reference books for allowable combinations. For example, there are clever fakes of 1899 with mintmaster AP which isn't possible because A. Redko only worked starting in 1901. And these weigh usually only 8.4 grams, by the way.

 

Finally, compare your coins with images of known genuine coins. If you have a fake, and all else seems correct, you might see differences in the design. If in doubt, take it to a coin dealer and let them examine it.

 

As to value, the rarest years which you might find are 1909 and 1910 (1906 exists in miniscule quantities; only 10 were struck in proof only according to the Kazakov reference; 1907 and 1908 do not exist, although there are fakes with 1908 for example. There were a few 5 rouble gold coins struck in 1907, but most of those were buried under the foundation of a church -- all but just a few coins, less than 10 I believe). The year 1911, although listed in most references as "scarce", is actually quite common because it was struck in unknown quantities after the October revolution. 1899 is also very common; the mintmaster/year combination 1901-AP (AR) is somewhat scarcer than 1901-FZ, but not nearly as scarce as the corresponding combination in 5 roubles. 1904 is a bit scarcer than the earlier years, but for some reason is more readily available in higher grades (IMHO). 1903 is also not as easy to find as most people think.

 

Since these were basically struck as bullion coins, the common dates in XF/AU will bring about $300-$400 each (corresponding to 1/4 troy ounce of gold plus a small markup); uncirculated ones are hard to find and can be about twice as expensive in today's market. The rarer dates will command a premium, of course.

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That was a nice review. And how would you evaluate 1898 versus 1899, particularly in AU/MS?

Thanks! :ninja:

 

1898 is about as common as 1899-AG or 1899-FZ according to Kazakov (1899-EB is a little less common, but not rare). According to some references (Bitkin?) 1899 was also one of the years which were probably struck again after the October revolution, so that would explain why there are more of the 1899 coins in high grade than 1898.

 

I think 1898 must be very hard to find in true uncirculated grade.

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It is much easier to find the 5 ruble coins in BU than any of the other denominations. The 7.5 and 15 rubles are getting ridiculous pricewise. I had a complete type set in EF-AU a few years ago that I sold when I went to Ukraine in 2001. I wish now that I had kept them, the 7.5 ruble coin I just bought costs more than I sold all the set for back then. The 15 rubles from recent experience have values well in excess of melt, there is more collector value attached now than even in the past.

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I actually don't have any of the Gold Rouble coins, and was thinking of starting out by getting a 5 Rouble gold coin. What does it run for typically in today's market? My Bitkin catalog is a few years old, so it doesn't reflect demand changes and gold price changes...

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I actually don't have any of the Gold Rouble coins, and was thinking of starting out by getting a 5 Rouble gold coin. What does it run for typically in today's market? My Bitkin catalog is a few years old, so it doesn't reflect demand changes and gold price changes...

 

I have been watching golden fives of NII. According to the NGC census there are literally thousands of 5 rouble coins graded at MS65 and higher. The most abundant are 1901ФЗ, 1902АР, 1903АР and 1904AP. They are often offered on eBay and can be bought at ~$200 or slightly above for MS65 or for $270-280 for MS67. With the gold content of ~1/8 ounce, the price does include a substantial premium. 1900ФЗ is not so easily available at a similar price but is not uncommon. A curious case is 1909, with >1000 graded by NGC as MS. It is marked as R (not a common coin, "довольно редкая") in Bitkin and with a dash (a rare coin, "редкая") in Uzdennikov for the reasons I do not understand. As a consequence, the common coin is overpriced and sells for ~$1000 in MS65 or MS66, give or take a couple hundred, depending on luck.

 

The earlier years are harder to find in MS but not impossible. For example, not long ago a 1898 (MS65) went for $600, and a 1897 (MS64) for $415.

 

Hope this helps.

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A curious case is 1909, with >1000 graded by NGC as MS. It is marked as R (not a common coin, "довольно редкая") in Bitkin and with a dash (a rare coin, "редкая") in Uzdennikov for the reasons I do not understand. As a consequence, the common coin is overpriced and sells for ~$1000 in MS65 or MS66, give or take a couple hundred, depending on luck.

I agree, 1909 is not rare. H. M. Severin discusses mintage numbers of Nicholas II gold (on p. 64 of the Durst reprint edition of his book "Gold and Platinum Coinage of Inperial Russia 1701-1911"). He says: "Figures from 1905 to 1909 are scanty. A case in point is the 5 roubles piece of 1909, a date rarely met with in past years but currently glutting the market."

 

1910 and 1911 -- now, THOSE are quite rare!

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What is the source of all these BU examples of the 5 ruble coin? Weren't there a lot of them in the so called Nordic Gold hoard?

True ... a couple of years ago there was a great thread here on the forum about the Norwegian hoard and how they hid the gold from the Germans in 1940. grivna1726 might have the link to that...???

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I remember when this gold started hitting the markets that the Goldbergs were auctioning off some lots of coins sometimes in the hundreds. There were many Danish coins in the Nordic hoard, and I own several of the 20 Kroner coins - they are in as minted condition. Obviously quite a few of the coins in the hoard saw very little if any circulation at all.

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  • 4 months later...

I have just registered into this Forum to thank you all for the the interesting information I have now about my Russian 10 gold roubles. I was given them to me by my father who brought it with him when he escaped the Sovjet-army in September 1944 from Estonia to Sweden over the Baltic sea. I have had it in a little box not noticing so much about it and this night I was just browsing on the Internet ...I reached you and my coins suddenly have a history. Nice meeting you all !

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I have just registered into this Forum to thank you all for the the interesting information I have now about my Russian 10 gold roubles. I was given them to me by my father who brought it with him when he escaped the Sovjet-army in September 1944 from Estonia to Sweden over the Baltic sea. I have had it in a little box not noticing so much about it and this night I was just browsing on the Internet ...I reached you and my coins suddenly have a history. Nice meeting you all !

 

 

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for sharing story about the 10 ruble coin in WWII. I have read accounts from Belarus and Ukraine of people using them to buy their freedom from Nazis and Soviets during the war.

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  • 1 year later...

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum, had the pleasure of purchasing 1903 10 rubles a week ago or so from dealer in Israel and today I received microscope and decided to examine my russian gold coins ( I have only 4 including 10 rubles) To my surprise all 3 "5 rubles" had even surface but 10 rubles in question had tiny green particles on the face here and there and way too many on the side- all the way around. Is it normall for 10 roubles or am I got a fake?

Thank you in advance

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Hello everyone, I am new to this forum, had the pleasure of purchasing 1903 10 rubles a week ago or so from dealer in Israel and today I received microscope and decided to examine my russian gold coins ( I have only 4 including 10 rubles) To my surprise all 3 "5 rubles" had even surface but 10 rubles in question had tiny green particles on the face here and there and way too many on the side- all the way around. Is it normall for 10 roubles or am I got a fake?

Thank you in advance

Welcome to CoinPeople, alexei! :art:

 

Russian gold coins struck during this period have 10% copper and 90% gold composition. It is possible that you have some corrosion of the copper content of the metal.

 

Usually, it is only minor, though. There are also fake coins with gold or brass plating on a base metal such as copper. Can you post some pictures of this coin? Also, what is the weight? You should use scales accurate to at least 0.1 grams. Variations in coin weight of gold coins of this period will usually be less than +/- 0.05 grams.

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Thank you very much, previous image is a copper particles, coin images will post later but I need to get a better quality images as ones I got now is a bit blurry. weight of the coin- 8.6gramms, my suspicions based on a fact that side with year and 10 rubles and crest are almost uncirculated but other side with Nicolas II seemed circulated well with marks and dents.

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