"H" countermark on copy/fantasy rare Russian coins

[kopeikin]

Here is a fantasy Russian coin or rather a copy of rare Russian coin. It looks close to what coin in catalog looks like. However the creators of the coin purposely made it to look a bit different from original so there is no doubt that it is not a real coin. Coin has "H" counter mark under "4 kopeck" inscription. This is not the first time I see "H" counter mark on the copies of rare Russian copper coins. Before I saw it on SIBERIA 5 kopeck coin getting sold on eBay a few months ago. That time the seller tried to present it as a NOVODEL coin, the "H" standing for "NOVODEL". This mis-presentation would make sense as "H" in Russian stands for "N" in English. However the look of 5 kopeck SIBERIA coin made it impossible to accept it as a real coin. Does someone know more of recent rare Russian copy coins and especially of "H" counter strike on rare Russian copy coins? When were these coins minted? Who minted them? Whoever the people who minted these coins are I admire them. They obviously did not make these a coins as a counterfeit. They obviously did not create them for a profit. Looks like they wasted their money for just having a fun. Thank you.

[alexbq2]

Here is a fantasy Russian coin or rather a copy of rare Russian coin. It looks close to what coin in catalog looks like. However the creators of the coin purposely made it to look a bit different from original so there is no doubt that it is not a real coin. Coin has "H" counter mark under "4 kopeck" inscription. This is not the first time I see "H" counter mark on the copies of rare Russian copper coins. Before I saw it on SIBERIA 5 kopeck coin getting sold on eBay a few months ago. That time the seller tried to present it as a NOVODEL coin, the "H" standing for "NOVODEL". This mis-presentation would make sense as "H" in Russian stands for "N" in English. However the look of 5 kopeck SIBERIA coin made it impossible to accept it as a real coin. Does someone know more of recent rare Russian copy coins and especially of "H" counter strike on rare Russian copy coins? When were these coins minted? Who minted them? Whoever the people who minted these coins are I admire them. They obviously did not make these a coins as a counterfeit. They obviously did not create them for a profit. Looks like they wasted their money for just having a fun. Thank you.

 

In the early 90's (possibly very late 80s) the Russian markets and fairs, that mostly catered to the foreign tourists who could finally visit the former "Empire of Evil", were flooded with these replicas. They were indeed initially being marked with H. At that time the sellers were referring to all fakes/replicas as Novodels, so this was somewhat appropriately marked. Later, similar looking pieces were coming out without an H. I guess the countermark gave sellers some legitimacy, and it would make these souvenirs easier to take through Russian customs. But in the end, I suppose the sellers determined that it would be easier to sell them without the countermark so it went away (to be fair most would still confirm that they are selling "Novodels" if asked).