Help for beginning numismatists. From LMD to SPMD

If you decide to become interested in numismatics, you should carefully select items for your collection. To quickly and correctly determine the market value of a banknote, you will need knowledge about mints. The fact is that the same banknote issued by different yards can differ in price several times.

Before you start searching for an emblem, you should determine the year of manufacture. If the date could not be found, most likely, this coin was issued during the times of Tsarist Rus', and only an experienced collector can determine whether it belongs to the mint. The fact is that previously there were about thirty mints in the country.

Today the question is relevant: how to determine the mint on a coin? However, in modern Russia, unlike the times of Tsarist Rus', there are only two mints - Moscow and St. Petersburg, whose emblems are displayed on the surface of the coins.

How can I find out which mint issued a coin? On the products their names are minted in the form of monograms MMD and SPMD. The letters M and S-P are displayed on penny coins.

If the coins do not have mint emblems, they are a real collector's item, and the value of such defective items will increase significantly. As surprising as it may sound, defective items are actually valued much higher due to their rarity.

Not every novice collector knows where the mint is located. In fact, this is not such a difficult procedure. To understand which court a coin belongs to, just take a magnifying glass and carefully examine its surface. Also, some collectors use a scanner or camera.

Sometimes it is difficult for beginners to figure out how to distinguish between mints. On coins that were issued by the Moscow Mint, the inscriptions are more rounded. This is one of the main differences.

On 10-ruble coins, the mint mark is located on the obverse, immediately below the denomination. If the banknote was issued in the early 90s, then the emblem should be looked for on the front side. But on penny coins, the sign of belonging to the mint will be depicted under the front hooves of the horse on which the rider sits. In modern coins, the emblem is located on the reverse on the right side under the eagle's paw.

For those who do not know how to distinguish a mint, these features will be quite enough to independently determine the identity of the banknotes.

First in Russia Mint appeared in 1534 in Moscow. In the period from 1697 to 1701, 5 enterprises for minting money already existed in Moscow. In 1724, by decree of Peter I, the same enterprise was founded in St. Petersburg, which after 1826 became the only one in the Russian Empire. In Moscow, coin minting was resumed only in 1942 at a newly built enterprise.

In the Soviet Union, coins were produced at Moscow and Leningrad enterprises. They were minted without a mark until 1991. In 1991, the trademark of the company that minted the coin appeared on the obverse. The letter “M” is the designation of the Moscow Mint, and “L” is the designation of the Leningrad Mint. The signs were located at the bottom of the obverse of the coin to the right of the coat of arms of the USSR.

After the collapse of the USSR, a monetary reform took place, the appearance of coins and their weight changed, and some other denominations appeared. On the first coins of the State Emergency Committee, the trademark was placed on the reverse under the denomination, and the hallmark designations remained the same. In mid-1991, new stamps began to appear on coins of 1 ruble and above, namely “MMD” - Moscow Mint and “LMD” - Leningradsky. Now coins were minted with different letters: “M”, “L”, “MMD”, “LMD” depending on the denomination. This continued until 1993. In 1993, after another monetary reform, the mint mark “M”, “L” finally disappeared.

After the renaming of Leningrad to St. Petersburg, the stigma also changed. Since 1997, coins with the sign “SPMD” began to be minted, which meant St. Petersburg Mint. The designation of Moskovsky remains the same - “MMD”. Each coin minting enterprise began to place stamps of two samples on the obverse side. For small change up to 50 kopecks, Moskovsky puts “M”, and St. Petersburg S-P and it is located under the raised hoof of the horse. From 1 ruble and above – “MMD” and “SPMD”, respectively. On these denominations the sign is placed under the eagle's right paw.

On modern commemorative coins, the mint mark appears in different places, depending on the denomination. On coins of 2 rubles and 5 rubles it is located on the reverse on the right side between the curls of the branch. On a bimetallic coin of 10 rubles - in the center on the reverse under the coin's denomination. On brass-plated ten-ruble steel coins issued since 2009, the mark is placed on the reverse side on the right side under the branch next to the year of issue.

Gallery of signs

Since the founding of the Russian Empire, there have been many enterprises for minting money. Each enterprise had its own designation. Below are the names and marks of the mints of Tsarist Russia.

• AM - Anninsky
• BC - Krasny, Naberezhny
• BM - St. Petersburg
• VM – Warsaw
• EM – Ekaterinburg
• IM - Kolpinsky (Izhora)
• KD – Red
• KM – Kolyvansky, Suzunsky, Kolpinsky (Izhora)
• M, MD, MDD, MDZ, MM, MOSCOW – Kadashevsky
• MMD – Red
• MW – Warsaw
• ND, NDD, NDZ – Embankment
• SM - Sestroretsky (on nickels 1763-1767)
• SM - Petersburg (on coins of 1797-1799)
• C - Banking (on gold and silver money 1799-1801)
• SM - Suzunsky (on money of 1798)
• SP - St. Petersburg
• SP - Bankovsky (on gold and silver coins of 1800)
• St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg (on money 1724-1796 and 1805-1914)
• SPB - Bankovsky (on gold and silver coins of 1801-1805)
• St. Petersburg - Paris and Strasbourg (on exchange silver 1861 without the sign of the mintzmeister)
• JV - Birmingham (on copper coins 1896-1898)
• St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg plant of Rosenkrantz (on copper coins 1899-1901)
• SPM - St. Petersburg Mint
• SPM - Kolpinsky (Izhora) (copper 1840-1843)
• TM - Tavrichesky

The obverse side of the coin. The obverse of modern rubles depicts a double-headed eagle, while the kopecks depict a horseman piercing a snake with a spear. For Soviet coins, the obverse side is considered to be the one on which the coat of arms of the USSR is depicted.

The side of the coin opposite the obverse. The reverse of modern Russian coins is decorated with floral patterns; on this side the number indicates the denomination.

edge- side surface of the coin.

Kant- a narrow protruding strip along the edge of the coin, which serves to protect its relief from wear.

Mint mark

Mint mark- trademark of the manufacturer. On modern rubles, the mint is designated by the abbreviations SPMD (St. Petersburg Mint) or MMD (Moscow Mint), on kopecks by the block letters “S-P” (St. Petersburg) or “M” (Moscow). The trademark is located on the obverse of the coin: for rubles it should be looked for under the paw of an eagle, for kopecks - under the front hoof of a horse. The exception is commemorative (anniversary) metal money, in which the mint mark is located in other places, for example, between the branches of a floral ornament.

Mint mark on modern kopecks:
Letter "M"	Letters "S-P"

Possible options for designating a coin company on banknotes of 1992-1993:
M - Moscow Mint	L - Leningrad Mint
MMD - Moscow Mint	LMD - Leningrad Mint

Degree of preservation of the coin

The condition of the coin (the safety of the coin) is one of the main factors influencing its collectible value.

The following degrees of safety of the coin are distinguished:

• Uncirculated (UNC) - excellent condition. In this condition, the coin should not show any signs of wear, and all its design details are usually clearly visible. Coins in this condition often have their original “chased” shine throughout their entire surface area. In this case, the presence of minor traces from storage in bags in the form of small nicks or scratches and some other defects is acceptable.
• About Uncirculated (AU, less commonly aUNC) - almost excellent condition. The coin has minimal, barely noticeable wear.
• Extremely Fine (XF) - excellent condition. The coins are in excellent condition with very minor wear to the most prominent small design elements. Usually at least 90 - 95% of small details are clearly visible on them.
• Very Fine (VF) - very good condition. Metal money already has very noticeable abrasion, and somewhat smoothed out details of the design (as a rule, only about 75% of the details of the design are clearly visible).
• Fine (F) - good condition. Good condition is determined by pronounced wear on the surfaces due to the long period of time the banknote has been in circulation. About 50% of the original details of the drawing are visible.
• Very Good (VG) - satisfactory condition. Significant wear on the entire surface. In Very Good condition, as a rule, only about 25% of the original elements of the design are retained.
• Good (G)- weak condition Very intense abrasion. Usually, predominantly the largest design details are visible.

Varieties

Nowadays, collecting coins by variety is becoming popular. Varieties are usually called copies of coins of the same denomination, year of issue, mint, which have any differences:

• in the stamps used for minting the obverse and (or) reverse,
• according to the design and inscriptions on the edge,
• the material from which the coin is made.

The most popular catalogs of varieties of coins of modern Russia are:

Types of coin defects

The numismatic value of banknotes with defects in some cases is an order of magnitude higher than standard copies. The most common types of coin defects are:

1. Vykus (moon)

Defect in the production of workpieces. Such a defect is formed when there is a failure in the supply of the metal strip and if the strip has not completely moved, then a semicircular “bite” from the previous cutting remains on the newly cut out circle. Only specimens with pronounced bites or several bites on one coin are valued. The price of such coins at auctions usually does not exceed 1000 rubles.

2. Unminted

An unstruck image on a coin can appear both as a result of wear of the working stamps, and as a result of insufficient impact force during minting. Happens quite often. Only coins with a strong unmint are of interest; in this case, the price of a coin can exceed 1000 rubles.

One of the most common types of coin defects. This type of defect occurs when using a destroyed stamp. When minted, a cracked stamp forms a convex line on the coin, starting from its edge. Of interest to collectors are only specimens with a pronounced split in the stamp, running from edge to edge. The cost of such banknotes usually starts from 100 rubles and in some cases can exceed 1000 rubles.

4. Rotate the obverse relative to the reverse

In the case of using stamps for minting, fixed with some rotation relative to each other, a defect called “rotation” is obtained. The rotation angle can be from 0 to 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise. The price of copies with this type of defect depends on the offset. The higher the angle, the more expensive the “turn” is valued, but it is rare that the cost of modern coins with a turn exceeds 1000 rubles.

Other types of marriage are much less common and are described in a separate article.

Where to sell a coin?

We have prepared a special one. We've compared the best of them, highlighting the benefits of each. You will also receive 10 recommendations that will allow you to get the maximum benefit when selling!

The first thing a novice numismatist should learn is to identify the mint where the coin was made. This skill will come in handy more than once, because... In many ways, the value of a coin is determined by where it was minted and in what quantity.

You will need

Instructions

Determine the year of issue of the coin

First, determine what year the coin was issued. Mints appeared in Rus' back in the 11th century, but they did not immediately begin to indicate their emblems on coins. Quite often the initials of the master who made the coin were simply indicated. So, look for the minting date on your coin. If you could not find it, but assume that the coin was issued during the times of Tsarist Rus', then in most cases only an experienced specialist can determine the mint. The fact is that before the beginning of the 20th century, about three dozen mints functioned in Russia, and often their letter designations coincided. Difficulties will also arise if the coin was issued in Soviet times, because until 1990, the mint emblem was simply not indicated.

Where to look for the mint emblem?

So, you are convinced that the coin was issued between 1990 and the present, the next step is to find where the emblem of the mint, or the abbreviation of its name, is indicated. On coins from the early 1990s, as well as on modern commemorative coins with a face value of 10 rubles, the mint mark should be looked for directly under the denomination. On coins from 1 to 50 kopecks, the mint emblem is indicated under the left front hoof of the horse, and coins from 1 to 10 rubles have a mark under the paw of a double-headed eagle on the right side. Thus, the mint can be indicated on the coin in three places, and inspect them.

A magnifying glass will help you examine the mint mark

What types of emblems are there?

Today there are two mints in Russia - St. Petersburg and Moscow, and they are usually designated by abbreviations. The Moscow Mint has the following abbreviations: M (coins with a face value of 1-50 kopecks), MMD (coins with a face value of 1 ruble). The St. Petersburg Mint is indicated as S-P (1-50 kopecks), SPMD (on coins from 1 ruble), L or LMD (on Soviet-style coins). You can only see abbreviations well with a magnifying glass, but most often it is enough to simply understand the first letter.

What if there is no logo?

If you carefully examined the coin from all sides and did not find the treasured emblem anywhere, this is also a good sign. If there really is no abbreviation, it means marriage. Yes, this happens at the mint too. But do not be discouraged in any case, because due to their rarity, such coins are valued higher than ordinary ones.

Many beginners in numismatics are somewhat skeptical about mint definition who issued this coin. And let’s say this is wrong for the future collector of rare coins. After all, knowing the mint sometimes helps determine the market value of a rarity that has fallen into your hands. The same denomination, issued by different mints, can vary in price several times.

So how to determine the mint on Russian coins. First you need to know that in modern Russia there are two mints: Moscow and St. Petersburg. And on modern coins their names are minted in the form of monograms: MMD and SPMD. On penny coins, the symbol appears on the reverse in the form of the letters M and S-P. Sometimes some coins do not have the court designation. And as a result of such a marriage, the value of the coin increases significantly. Also, a novice collector should not be alarmed by the fact that the Moscow Mint stamp on the coins looks somewhat larger than the St. Petersburg mint stamp. It is so indeed.

To identify the mint, a numismatist may need a magnifying glass. But if circumstances permit, you can use a camera or scanner. But the last two methods are more suitable for old or worn coins. So a magnifying glass is the main tool of a numismatist.

But even with a magnifying glass it is not always easy to find mint emblems on a coin. Therefore, we immediately suggest that on 10 ruble coins mint mark can be found on the obverse of the coin under its denomination. This is clearly illustrated in the photo below.

And penny coins will delight the collector with the letters M or S-P under the front hooves of the horse.

On coins of the early nineties, mints are indicated on the obverse of the coin in the form of the letters M (Moscow) or L (Leningrad).

Also, the mint can be identified by the edge (edge) of the coin - on MMD coins, the inscriptions have a more rounded shape than on SPMD coins.

Determining the mint by edge