"My" 1726 Kopek

[squirrel]

1 hour ago, gxseries said:

I was googling about 1726 kopek and came across this thread.

 

I was actually looking for the 1724 kopek but am more than happy with this!

 

 

 

Terrific way to bring a thread back to life!  

[gxseries]

You know I find it fascinating that this coin is supposedly a pattern yet is similar to the 1724 1 kopek. On top of it, the amount of varieties make it more interesting! 

It looks like my example is heavily circulated which made me wonder if this is a pattern coin or just accidentally released to circulation. 

[alexbq2]

A new coin Hisa? Great find!

I vaguely recall reading somewhere about the the 1726 Kopeck (maybe here?). There's a difference in the terms Pattern and Essai, which might not exist (or be commonly used) in Russian terminology. Pattern presumes a perfectly struck example to be copied, this is usually a new design being adopted by the mint, and to your point there is no reason to produce a Pattern in 1726 for a design that existed in 1724.

From what I understand/recall the 1726 coins are -  Essais.  The mint was gearing up to launch another series of the "Frame" kopecks in 1726, new dies were made and a few Essais were struck to test the new dies. But the production was canceled, and now you have a very rare coin - Congrats!

[gxseries]

Thanks Alex for the explanation! That does make more sense. I don't think we will ever come across the truth of why this fascinating series got cancelled.

 

I did spend a bit too much on other coins and this did tip the edge - I shall behave for the rest of the year. I don't think I'll come across anything scarcer any time soon that is within affordable range.