Looking for coin.

[coinnoman]

Hey, i'm looking for Russian Polushka 1764 KM anyone knows it's hard to find one ? And how much worth it?

[Steve D'Ippolito]

It's listed as being "of the highest rarity" in Uzdenikov if you want an original. That means only a very few exist, and you can probably expect to pay thousands of dollars. If you want a novodel, it's "scarce". I know there are copies out there also.

[Andrey5]

Yes, it would difficult to find one, ... since (at least according to Bitkin catalogue) none were mint in Suzun (KM mint mark) in 1764. There were Polushkas mint for Siberia in 1764 and they are rare (R4 in Bitkin). This one sold for EUR 220 in March 2006 at Gorny & Mosch in Munich.

[Steve D'Ippolito]

Well that's what I get for only checking Uzdenikov. The original 1764 Siberian polushka I alluded to does not in fact actually exist according to Brekke (though Uzdenikov claims it does); the coin Andrey5 showed is therefore a novodel and is only scarce (as I noted).

 

I am a little surprised it didn't sell for more money.

 

The Suzun mint Andrey mentioned, and the mint that produced the Siberian pieces is the same mint, but at different times. From 1764-1780 it produced Siberian coins, with an edge inscription (колыванская медь--of Kolyvan copper) on the coins for the first few years (though polushkas, dengas and kopeks were too small to take a lettered edge). Then from 1766-1781 the initials КМ were placed on the side with the monogram, strictly speaking not a true mint mark since it still stood for колыванская медь. From 1781-1831 this mint used КМ as a mint mark (колыванская монета--Kolyvanskaya Moneta) then went to СМ (сузунская монета--Suzunskaya moneta) during 1831 through 1847.

 

So realistically there was no such thing as a 1764 КМ, not even the novodel Andrey showed would qualify because the initials weren't being placed yet, and there wasn't even edge lettering on the piece.

 

The mint apparently burned to the ground twice and was flooded once; it no doubt seemed jinxed to the Russians living at the time.

 

Anyway Andrei is correct that the Suzun Mint issued nothing that year; it wasn't known by that name yet and certainly wouldn't have been issuing regular Russian coinage anytime that decade or the next.

[Andrey5]

I do not claim to be a specialist in Russian Imperial copper, but I also have a few books, an Internet access and can read in several languages. To start with, the question of the coinnoman was on "Russian Polushka 1764 KM", nothing about Siberian coinage in the question. I assumed that coinnoman was interested in a regular issue coin of 1764 with KM mintmark. No such coin was issued, and there is no regular issue Polushka listed in Uzdenikov's catalog for 1764 (Steve's words might be understood as an allusion that Uzdenikov made a mistake and listed a regular issue Polushka in 1764, but he did not).

 

Siberian coins is another story. There was a Siberian Polushka with 1764 date but without the KM mintmark. Uzdenikov lists it and explains that original 1764 Siberian Polushkas were mint in St.Petersburg as samples for Kolyvan Mint (it became later known as Suzun Mint). There were also later Novodels of this Polushka. The coin I provided a link to was not a Novodel, but an original one. If you check Bitkin catalog, where rims are described for both originals and novodels, you can see that originals had шнур ///// rim while novodels had a variety of different rims. The relatively low price of EUR 220 (plus auction's fee) for the coin I showed can probably be explained by the fact that the sale took place back in 2006. Prices for rare Russian Imperial coins skyrocketed in the last 5 years, so I won't be surprised if the same coin today sold for a lot more. You can see the picture of this coin and of several novodels on this site http://www.m-dv.ru/catalog/id,4232/type.html