Rhino Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I'm interested in hearing how everyone on here (in the Russian coin section) got started in collecting specifically Russian coins. What made you start in Russian types? Do any of you guys have Russian roots? What's your story? I haven't met anyone who randomly decided one day to collect coins, and specifically Russian ones, so I'm interested to hear what events in your life gave you this direction. Personally, my family is Russian and I was given a 1913 1 Rouble coin from my grandfather when I was a teen that was passed down in the family, and that got me hooked on expanding the collection. How did you guys start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobh Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 My family has no Russians in it -- but my wife's family does. When my father-in-law passed away, he left a small collection of odds and ends, including some coins. Among these was a 1913-BC Russian 50 kopeck coin in nice AU condition. He had probably had it since he was a boy, and never cleaned it, so it was heavily but attractively toned. I was intrigued because I had never seen a coin with a lettered edge before. The fact that it was Russian was also interesting to me because I had been to Russia a couple of times before (I'm a classical musician), and in the course had decided to take lessons in the Russian language. Here is the coin he had: Nothing really happened with the coins until 2004, when my wife decided that I needed a new hobby (!) and gave me a nice Canadian proof set, an uncirculated 1923 Peace dollar (USA) and some 2x2 holders in various sizes for my birthday. My own parents had a few USA coins -- mostly some circulated Morgan dollars, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes and Indian cents. So I decided to "improve" on that, having long before inherited this beginning collection. Once started, I got enthusiastic and began to actively search out and buy higher-grade coins ... it was very frustrating going through the common-date, circulated coins my parents had and discovering that they had little collector's interest (except for their sentimental value, of course, and the opportunity to find the occasional interesting variety amongst the Morgan dollars -- but this came much later). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigistenz Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 I'm interested in hearing how everyone on here (in the Russian coin section) got started in collecting specifically Russian coins. What made you start in Russian types? Do any of you guys have Russian roots? What's your story? I haven't met anyone who randomly decided one day to collect coins, and specifically Russian ones, so I'm interested to hear what events in your life gave you this direction. Personally, my family is Russian and I was given a 1913 1 Rouble coin from my grandfather when I was a teen that was passed down in the family, and that got me hooked on expanding the collection. How did you guys start? I am a German with no Russian roots, born near Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad oblast). In January 1945 as a boy of 7 we had to flee from the advancing Red Army with what my mother could carry on her back. 2 months later we were caught up by the Russians and spent a year under their occupation which was not too pleasant let aside the lack of food. We then were expulsed to the British Zone of occupied Germany staying refugees for still a long time but with slightly more to eat. East Prussia had been kept by the Russians and became part of the USSR. Unthinkable and impossible going back under the circumstances. I hated the Russians. Only after many years, by and by I began to realize that it were not the Russians to be blamed, but the Germans themselves. Collecting has been in my genes as far as I can think back. In the early 70s I fell in love with a chocolate copper EM 5 kopeck of Catherine II. and bought it. And that is how it began.... For about 15 years I have been thinking that I am too old to learn Russian as a 5th language. If I only had started..... Sigi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 A long story and I don't tell it often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prekol Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 When I was 9 and growing up in Kiev (Ukraine) I traded some gum wrapper cartoons (very popular amongst kids in Russia, something along the lines of Bazooka Joe cartoons but much fancier, like Turbo etc...) for 2 copper coins, a 1911 5 kopeck copper and a 1903 2 copper kopeck. Then when I came to US and in my teens started to buy some Russian coins from ebay and that was a start of a great, yet very expensive hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Very interesting to see the huge variety of backgrounds that we have here and how everyone came to the same hobby from a totally different place. Thanks for sharing, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I'm Asian, no Russian roots and I lived in Russia for one and half year. What got me hooked on collecting Russian coins was simply because of the lack of souvenirs I could buy back then in 2002. When I bought my first 64 Soviet commemorative coin set in Izmailovsky park for 1000 rubles, I got hooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 I'm interested in hearing how everyone on here (in the Russian coin section) got started in collecting specifically Russian coins. What made you start in Russian types? Do any of you guys have Russian roots? What's your story? I haven't met anyone who randomly decided one day to collect coins, and specifically Russian ones, so I'm interested to hear what events in your life gave you this direction. Personally, my family is Russian and I was given a 1913 1 Rouble coin from my grandfather when I was a teen that was passed down in the family, and that got me hooked on expanding the collection. How did you guys start? When I was 8 years old living in Russia one of my parents' friends brought a 10 pfennig coin from Germany as a souvenir. My parents gave it to me as they obviously had no use for it, and that is how I started collecting coins. First they were European coins but soon afterwards a small side collection of Russian coins developed. When I moved to the US I stopped and started again a few years after graduating from college. This time my interest was US coins. But not for long. Thee or so years ago I inherited a small number of 19th century Russian roubles in low grades from a distant relative of mine, I smuggled them out of Russia and that's how my attention turned to Russian coins. It has become quite an expensive hobby as my brief stint with US coins tought me to aim for mint pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqc2002 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 First I got married to it then I started collecting the coins from Russia - Inspired by some coins that were given to me by my wife and mother in law. I think I have made a great deal marring my wife - so why not trying the coins Short but simple. TQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobh Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 I think I have made a great deal marring my wife - ... I wonder if she thinks the same? (I know you meant "marrying" ... certainly hope you aren't "marring" her...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 We speak Russian as much as English to my house - so I think it with the territory so we say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordic gold Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 My first russian coin was a very low grade denga 1798 EM which I got from a schoolmate. We both were 11 years old then. Trying to find out more about this coin I showed it at the numimatic dep. of the National Museum, and learned the basic facts. Finally, and to my great dissappointment, the value of the coin was said to be very low. Because of the low commercial value these coins were only sold in lots, and dividing the price of a lot from a recent auction we ended up to a sum equivalent to the price of a candy bar. "If they really are that inexpensive" I remember thinking "I will start buying some more." In the years to come I indeed spent more money to coins than candy, and the result is not bad. From Paul I coppers (novodels not counted, I do not collect them) I only lack 6 coins: polushka 1799 EM, denga 1800 EM, denga 1801 EM, denga 1799 KM, kopeck 1799 KM - and the rare variety of denga 1797 AM with an obverse of a polushka. At present price rate almost all of these 6 coins are in the "unobtainable" category for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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