The Karasuksky Regional Museum’s Numismatics collection includes a five-kopek coin, issued in 1854. The coin was used in the later years of Nicholas I’s reign. This was a relatively common coin, with 355,840 produced. One of these coins would buy you bread and sifted wheat flour, whilst four of them could rent a room in a tavern for a night, according to the memoirs of a peasant from Chernivtsi, called Shipov.
The 1854 five-kopek coin is a solid round copper coin with a face value of five kopeks, with a six-millimeter hole in the middle. The origin of the hole is unknown - often they were made in order to use the coin as a decoration or as a charm. The hole could be made after the coin lost its purchasing power - for example, in order to make a washer for a round nail.
The coin weighs 25.6g and is 36mm in diameter. The coin to copper ratio was 36 rubles, meaning that 16.3 kilograms of copper needed to make 720 five-kopek coins. Russia had a special system of measures for a long time. The smallest unit of mass was the ‘zolotnik’, equal to 4.266 grams. They usually measured the mass of coins apiece. Three zolotniks made one ‘lot’, and 32 ‘lots’ were equal to a pound. So a pound was 96 zolotniks. 40 pounds made a pood, which determined the coin to copper ratio.
The coin’s obverse is separated from the edge by a crenulated edge. The small State coat of arms is positioned in the center of the coin’s obverse. The coat of arms depicts a two-headed eagle under three crowns, with an orb and scepter in its talons. The coin’s reverse also has a crenulated border, with the face value displayed on two lines: 5 kopeks. The issue date is 1854. The number ‘5’ is bordered by colored roses and a lower two-line decorative trim. The Yekaterinburg Mint’s stamp is positioned above this. This was the only mint which issues these five-kopek coins, however the coin’s state does not allow us to see this stamp. The coin’s edge or rim is smooth, without any cuts or designs.
All coins issued between 1849 and 1867 were minted at the Yekaterinburg Mint (with the designation EM), the Saint Petersburg Mint (SPM) and the Warsaw Mint. The designation of the former was either MW or ‘ВМ’, standing for ‘Warsaw Mint’.
The 1854 five-kopek coin is a solid round copper coin with a face value of five kopeks, with a six-millimeter hole in the middle. The origin of the hole is unknown - often they were made in order to use the coin as a decoration or as a charm. The hole could be made after the coin lost its purchasing power - for example, in order to make a washer for a round nail.
The coin weighs 25.6g and is 36mm in diameter. The coin to copper ratio was 36 rubles, meaning that 16.3 kilograms of copper needed to make 720 five-kopek coins. Russia had a special system of measures for a long time. The smallest unit of mass was the ‘zolotnik’, equal to 4.266 grams. They usually measured the mass of coins apiece. Three zolotniks made one ‘lot’, and 32 ‘lots’ were equal to a pound. So a pound was 96 zolotniks. 40 pounds made a pood, which determined the coin to copper ratio.
The coin’s obverse is separated from the edge by a crenulated edge. The small State coat of arms is positioned in the center of the coin’s obverse. The coat of arms depicts a two-headed eagle under three crowns, with an orb and scepter in its talons. The coin’s reverse also has a crenulated border, with the face value displayed on two lines: 5 kopeks. The issue date is 1854. The number ‘5’ is bordered by colored roses and a lower two-line decorative trim. The Yekaterinburg Mint’s stamp is positioned above this. This was the only mint which issues these five-kopek coins, however the coin’s state does not allow us to see this stamp. The coin’s edge or rim is smooth, without any cuts or designs.
All coins issued between 1849 and 1867 were minted at the Yekaterinburg Mint (with the designation EM), the Saint Petersburg Mint (SPM) and the Warsaw Mint. The designation of the former was either MW or ‘ВМ’, standing for ‘Warsaw Mint’.
