sigistenz

In 1811 two mintmasters were busy in СПБ: Михаил Клейнер (1808-1811) and Павел Ступицын (1810-1825). In my opinion we see here recut mintmaster initials, probably ПС over МК. Very interesting coin. Sigi .

Thank you and of course Rarenum for widening my view. Sigi .

Thank you for sharing. Fakes are getting terribly dangerous. A closer look however reveals some oddities:- the coin appears to be an overstrike. The dies of the 2 kopek host coin should be arranged in medal alignment. But here they look like turned by 90 degrees. The "17" under the horse looks a bit too slanted (?) Sigi .

Sharp horse! Probably authentic but I'd avoid it, I don't like the dullness. Might be a detector find. Sigi .

No, Igor, I do not collect medals any more. I just wondered about the hand. I was after the Siberian 10kop1776KM old type - a common coin but nicer than mine. But It went way too high, I think €450 (plus 20% plus shipping).......... Sigi .

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Oops - post came twice - admin, please delete. thank you Sigi

I forgot to say that the picture can be enlarged by clicking on on it once and then a 2nd time. The sleeves of both people go to the orb but the hand below does not seem to below to any of them. Sigi

WHO IS HOLDING THE ORB? Sigi .

Looks like a wonderful tool for eagle hunters like myself. I have been looking for somthing like this for many years. Will order the book, too. Thank you for the pleasure to come! Best, Sigi .

I do not recall her, because we had different collecting interests, never met in the same thread. I wonder how she may have been. And I am sorry...... Sigi . .

1788 EM started out with their normal 5 kopek design. Not many were struck before new dies with a new design were introduced. That new design prevailed unchanged until 1796. The vast majority of the 5kop1788EM are of the new design. The old type coins of the 5kop1788EM are rarely seen. Here is one. Sigi .

That's it. Sigi .

From my observations the 10 kop1767KM edge 6 (\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\) is the rarest of the three 1767 types - the other types being 1767KM edge 1 (////////////) and 1767- - (no KM) with lettered edge. However -strangely enough- at auctions it is the less rare lettered edge variant that goes up highest of the three . Sigi .

Hi Eugene, the coin we were talking about is the 5kop1758-no mintmark from the upcoming NY-sale. Upon your inquiry they sent you a pixcture of its edge (above). As we know the 5kop1758 no mintmark dies were made in St.Petersburg whereas the coins were struck in both Sestroretsk and Ekaterinburg. It is possible - even likely, that St.Petersburg struck some test coins, too. Where was the NY-sale coin struck? That is the question. I think each of the 3 mints had their own edging tool(s). Maybe they differed slightly as to width of the meshes or angles of the net. it would take close comparison of each of the 3 mints' edge of 1758 coins to get an idea. With the very few coins I have on hand it is difficult. The MM (Moscow Mint) had wider meshes, but they are not of interest here. Sorry to not have a more precise idea.. Sigi

On this 1764СМ 5 kopek the mint mark is not placed harmoniously. The "С" should be closer to the dragon's tail. "CM" (Sestroretsk Mint) was a branch mint of St.Petersburg (СПМ) mint. It is believed that Sestroretsk was supplied with dies from St.Petersburg. Taking into account the rough surrounding of the "С" together with its misplacement, it is in my opinion pretty safe to assume that on this coin an "СПМ" mint mark was modified and altered into "СМ". Sigi

Thank you both for praising my 1764 (that's what I had hoped for). The 2 later EM overstrike dates are even harder to find (there was a 1765EM in the Jan.2014 New York Sale, fetched $500, not too much in my opinion of today), but there is still the 1767EM - - Here are the mintage figures according to DIAKOV, Russian Coins of Catherine II. 1763EM on new planchets 32,654,400pcs - plus overstruck 3,870,700pcs 1764EM on new planchets 32,271,400pcs - plus overstruck 1,776,200pcs 1765EM on new planchets 41,081,100pcs - plus overstruck......28,200pcs 1766EM on new planchets 26,562,600pcs - none overstruck - 1767EM on new planchets 37,006,300pcs - plus overstruck......13,400pcs No later overstrike dates for EM Good luck hunting but don't watch the 1765s and the 1767s too closely....... Sigi .

I am having trouble with this forum, had no access at all for a couple of days. I wonder whether my picture will show properly. Here is my latest find, an EM overstrike. It is also an overdate 1764/3 (the 3 had a flat horizontal top) The 1764EM overstrikes are not abundant. According to Diakov, Ekaterinburg produced 1.776.200 overstruck pieces vs. 32.271.400 pcs with new planchets. This would mean that the overstrikes amounted to only about 5%. Sigi I wonder why my 165KB pic was transformed to a thumbnail .

Another outstanding contribution to the hobby! Eugene, you are a true numismatist, I am full of admiration! Thank you for this, Sigi .

Yes, that looks funny. I can not imagine how that happened. Thank you for showing. Sigi .

I'd keep away from this one - is it genuine? The color is supicious. It would be interesting to examine the edge. BTW - there is a nice one on eBay, I'd be tempted but mine is from the same dies both sides. See the eBay coin: http://www.ebay.com/itm/391311111520?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2FEmpire-up-to-1917-%2F32477%2Fi.html%3F_sc%3D1%26_sop%3D10%26_sticky%3D1%26_catref%3D1%26_trkparms%3D65%25253A12%25257C66%25253A2%25257C39%25253A1%25257C72%25253A5846%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D391311111520%26_rdc%3D1 Sigi .

As seen through the plastic they look great, both of them, congratulations. Hopefully there will be no unpleasant surprise when exhumated. But maybe you leave them where they are? Remember the wrecked coin I found masked by my first (and last) slab. Sigi .

I have no idea. Sigi .

It is not very distinct - I would not consider that a noteworthy variant. Also the "5" is slightly more slanting, the "E" of the mintmark somewhat slanted, too. But to my taste all this is not different enough to be a variant - is it in Russia? Sigi .