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CLICK HERE FOR
COINS OF THE FORMER REPUBLICS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
For hundreds of years much of Russian commerce was based on
these
tiny silver coins called wire money. The coins were struck by
taking a piece of silver wire, cutting it to the proper weight, then
smashing it between a pair of dies by a strong-armed Russian.
As
might be expected, the coins are quite crude and are usually struck
partly off-center. The coin shows a horseman, on
one side
and legends on the other. We
are pleased to offer you this selection of Russian Wire Money which
covers a vast sweep of Russian History.
Ivan IV, generally
known as Ivan the Terrible, was
crowned Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533 at age three. In 1547
he
declared himself Czar of all Russia, and set about centralizing the
Russian government and consolidating his power. The title Czar is based
on the ancient Roman title of Caesar, as he saw Russia as a
continuation of the ancient Roman Empire. He engaged in a
reign of terror against anyone he thought might oppose him, torturing
and executing many thousands of his subjects, including his own son.
Entire cities were and regions were left depopulated.
Thus he earned his title "The Terrible". Though he
expanded the Russian Empire eastward into Siberia, his attempts to
expand into the Baltic met with disastrous defeats. The
military,
weakened by Ivan's purges, was defeated by Sweden and Poland.
He
apparently had
quite an appetite for women, having gone through seven wives and
keeping some
50 concubines. Having destroyed the economy of the country
and
having
killed his most promising heir, Russia fell into "The Time of Troubles"
after
his death in 1584. We have offer two silver wire coins of
Ivan. Silver wire coins was made by a strong
armed-Russian
smashing a piece of cut
silver wire between a set of dies. As might be expected the
coins
tend
to be a bit crude and irregular. The silver wire Denga (1/2
Kopeck) shows Ivan with an upraised sword. The
reverse
features his name and title. The silver wire Kopeck
was
struck in Novgorod betwwen 1535 and 1538, before he declared
himself
Czar. The coin features Ivan on horseback carrying a lance on
one
side and legends on the other. 
Following the
death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia fell
into a period
of almost 20 years chaos and civil war. In an effort to bring an end to
the
fighting, in 1613 The Council of All Russia elected the 16 year old
Michael
Fydorovich Romanov as Czar. Though many expected him to fail,
the
young Michael slowly
established
his control over Russia and wisely avoided involvement in the wars of
Europe.
By the time of his death in 1645 he had established the powerful
Romanov
dynasty, which was to last over 300 years, until the Russian Revolution
in
1917. 
Like
his father Michael, Alexis
became Czar
when he was only 16 years old. Though he was later considered to be a
benevolent and gentle Czar, his reign included a seemingly endless
series of revolts and crises, To cover the increasing government debts
a high tax was placed on salt and a government monopoly on tobacco was
implemented. This caused
widespread riots so the salt tax was soon repealed. Next the
government
tried to debase the coinage. This caused another rebellion.
Attempts
at ceremonial reforms in the Russian Church caused further
rebellions. The issues in dispute included how many
fingers
should be used when making the sign of the cross, how to spell the name
of Jesus, and the proper direction for religious processions.
Thousands of Old Believers, burned themselves to death in
their
churches rather than accept the reforms. 
Peter the Great, the younger
son of Alexis
ruled
Russia from 1689 to 1725. He was a great reformer, modernizing Russia
and
expanding its Navy, frontiers and prestige. One of his
reforms
was
to abolish the wire coinage in favor of machine struck coins that were
used
in much of Europe. Thus he brought an end to this long series
of
crude
silver coins. 
These
copper Dengas, also known as half kopecks, were struck from 1730 to
1754,
spanning the reigns of Anna, Ivan VI and Elizabeth. One side
bears the Russian double headed
eagle. The other side shows the denomination and date. There
is no indication of the issuing
monarch. It is an interesting and historic old Russian coin at a
moderate
price.
Catherine, who
ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796, was noted for her great expansion of
Russian territory, the great modernization of Russian society and her
great exploits with men. She should also be noted for her
great big coins. She believed that coins should contain their intrinsic
value in metal. 5 Kopecks was a sizable sum in those days, hence a
sizable coin. These big, thick copper 5 Kopeck coins are
almost 1 3/4 inches (42mm) in diameter. A pocket full of
these would really weigh you down! The obverse shows the two headed
Russian Eagle. The reverse has Catherine's monogram and the
date. . 
SILVER
COINS OF THE RUSSIAN
SOVIET FEDERATED SOCIALISTS REPUBLIC
The
Russian Federated Socialists Republic (R.S.F.S.R.) was the largest
Republic within the U.S.S.R. It briefly issued its own
coinage
from 1921 to 1923, until a common coinage for the entire U.S.S.R. was
issued. This three coin set includes the silver 10, 25 and 20
Kopecks of the R.S.F.S.R. in Very Fine condition.
One side
of the coins shows the hammer and sickle in front of the rising sun,
within a wreath. The other side has the denomination and a
star.
Item
RU-TOWN08 2008 SET OF 4 RUSSIAN HISTORIC
TOWNS
10 RUBLES, UNC. $12.00
Item
RU-REG08 RUSSIA,
2008 SET OF 4 REGIONAL 10
RUBLES,
UNC. $12.00COINS OF
THE
FORMER REPUBLICS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
SILVER
COINS FROM THE GRAND DUCHY OF FINLAND
SILVER
COINS FROM FINLAND’S CIVIL WAR
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