Russian Coin from 1818

[bethellen23]

Hi all. My mother in law came over with a bunch of foreign currency and this particular coin is very interesting to me. I haven't been able to find anything like it on the net, though some very similar. I'm actually rushing off to work but could post pics later. The pics online are for Russian Roubels (sp?) and on the back of the coins it has the numbers 4 and 21 on them...but on this particular coin the numbers on the back are 2 and 10 1/2, with lettering that I obviously cannot understand. The front of the coin is the same, with some sort of bird like emblem and the words moheta hoathha (or something similar). If anyone is familiar with the name of this coin, or even better, an estimate of what it is worth, I would really appreciate it!

[sturzny]

What you are describing is a "poltina" or 1/2 ruble coin, from the early 19th century. The numbers on the back refer to the silver in the coin by weight.

 

The value of such a coin depends on a number of factors - whether or not it is genuine (there are many fakes of old Russian coins out there), the state of preservation (how worn it is, whether it has any damage or has been cleaned, etc.), and the date and variety. As such it is impossible to estimate a value without seeing the coin. As compared to full rubles from the same period, poltinas were more sparsely minted, and certain dates are quite scarce and can bring high prices.

[sturzny]

An 1818 is a common date however.

[gxseries]

Would it look something like this?

 

 

Mine is dated 1817 though.

 

The value of your coin is very difficult to estimate - you first need to post a picture of what you have then we can tell you what is reasonable. The condition of the coin as well as the variety helps to determine what is valuable to collectors like what sturzny said.

 

Welcome to coinpeople by the way