Russian Wire Coins. Frank a. Lapa

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I by FRANK A. LAPA

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RUSSIAN WIRE MONEY By FJulnk .{,6

A.

La.pa.

UlnUed to 1000 Copiel>

06 wlUc.h tIU.6 COpy NO.

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R U5 5 I A N

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W IRE MONEY 'J

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By Frank A. Lapa

A BRIEF-------------------WIRE KOPECKS struck from long thin threads of silver wire, dies were similar used in ancient coin striking (I ll . A), silver wire was inserted and the blow of the rrallet would sever each end . A great rrany times half the design i s shown-- -doubl e and triple strikes are quite common . Nearly blank with a partial design rerraining is typical of the crude minting process .

t o that

Wire Kopecks generally range in condition of Fine or Very Fine , rarely Extremel y Fine . Some are hol ed , which does not detract from their numisrrat i c value , and they are collected right along with other specimens in one ' s collection. Condi tion is not that all important when collecting Wire Money, although i t must be clear and readabl e .

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction _________________________________________ 3 Mint Marks 4 Rarity Symbols and Price Evaluation 5 Coinage Before Wire Kopecks 6 Ivan IV (Gospodar Type) 7 Ivan IV (Denga) 8 Ivan IV as Tsar 8 9 Feodor Ivanovi ch Boris Godunov 10 Dimitri (The Impostor) 11 Shuisky Kopeck Dated 1605 11 Vasilei Shuisky 12 Vladislav Vas a 13 House of Romanov - First Tsar 13 Alexie Mikhailovi ch 14 Copper Inflation Kopeck 14 Pete r (The Great) 15 Rus s ian Date Chart 16 Bibliography 16

3.

INTRODUcrION Thi s i s not intended t o be a catal og - it i s designed f or those interested in Russia ' s early coinage , " WIRE KOPECKS " and to enable the reader to attribute these kopecks without knowledge of the Russian language . The information has been gathered from the s tudy of several accumulations which I was fortunate enough to purchase , enabling me t o make a closer perusal of each •

COln .

A text , in English, perta ining to Russian Wipe Kopecks has been l ong overdue . There are a great number in other languages which are rarely offered f or sale . (The serious student would do well to obtain CHAUDOIR and SCHUBERT. )

Wi pe Kopecks are not rare but it i s rather uncommon t o f ind them in the average deal er ' s stock . Most often you will find a wipe kopeck incorporated in an Odd & Curious exhi bit because of the nature of s ize and the minting procedures. The easiest obtainable kopecks are those of IVAN IV or PETER the GREAT , either priced at under 4 dol lars - however, a value of over 20 doJ13rs may be placed on t he kopeck by the unknowledgeable seller . I have attempted t o formulate a RaM.t1f Sc.ale, based strictly on my own experi ence regarding avail ability . My sincere Numismatic appreciation is extended to : Wm . Petrosky for whose expert assistance and counsel I am much indebted ; and Carl Subak my principle source in obtaining the accumulations of AR Kopecks . Thank you . June 1967

Frank A. lapa

COPYRIGHT 1967 by Frank A. Lapa

All Ri ght s Reserved -- No portion of thi s bookl et may • be repr i nt ed without written permission of Frank A. Lapa .

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Major mint marks t hat appear on The obverse bel ow rider on horseback : NOTE : Whe n no mint mark appear s , usually st ruck in the cap it a l during the Ruler ' s reign .

MOSCOW MINT The fo llowing are typi cal of the var i ants Moscmv mint . Other variants are known • . I.

2.

3·

.....oc.

M

"MS(DW

7.

1'10

51'10(..1'84

B.

...e-t

Me

b

""6A

for the

..... "OV'

..... "0

On...IE~

+ VAR IANT5

NOVGOROD MINT Other varia nts are known .

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PSKOV MINT I.

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z. I IC-

lIE-n"k

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"'Thi,s , type mint mark appears on th e reverse unde r l eg1'; "Ivan as Prin ce . Ge nerally other initia1~vc"'" ~.ar in t he l oca:: i o? where the mint marks appear I< " . -h are abbrevlatlons f or name of ruler, initials of '. ~ mint master or denomination - few examples are U "' fC) llows: -L· Ie::. (1f~fR I --' . Ia z.Mlif 3.11E I- , >'• . ~AH ~ . rp ,.-1A· +INITIALS

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• The f ollowing is a theor '~ _. . .1 deflm• tlOn of these abbreviations , which are uncerta in or unknown t o other researchers as well . S. •• ••SMRJ..L 4 PI/NcE ••M /,off GPIINP ••NOT

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~o.eP

KNOWN

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OGN~n

....

PKIN~$

DA

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/" ORP

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~IINJ)

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SOY,i"K£"1 MAS'1T~

NOTE: Many times a part of the rider or horse may be not connecting and will appear as a let ter as the ride r ' s foot could be taken for an "L"; als o , the cape t o the l eft may look like a scroll behind the rider .

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5. Prices for Clear Readable Coins

RARITY SYMBO LS •

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Not Corrm::m _ __ _ __ _ ____ Very Scarce _ _ . Rare _

3 . 00

to

5. 00

_____ 3 . 75

to

7 . 00

________ __

__

1 0 . 00

to

14 . 00

_ __.._____

10.00

to

17 . 00

Rare _ __ ______

40 . 00

to

-----

The above are Rarity Types . For date , symbol will be keyed with "D" as or conditi on keyed with " C" as ~c.

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When a combina-

tion type and condition and/or date will have tail on l eft as

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"V ."

For origin not c l ear or unknown will be keyed as For Occupation Coinage abbrevi ati o n and may appear as oc VI

oc.

oc.+

or

will wr

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used

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case may be . Other abbreviations could be . -

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denotes coins from

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, , -AR . silver . - - --- ...-

Kopecks s truck in Gold exist, not intended for circulation but rather for presentation purposes and are

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,·

or

an earthen hoard; AE

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6. TVER Line drawings L . 1, 2, J , 4 and 5 are t he general types issued during the Re i gn of Pri nce Michel BorissQvitch, 1461-1485; termed as (AE) PUL. coi nage , actual denomi nat i on unknown . Al l AE TVER coi nage i s extremely crude whereas t he few f:rom several hundred that have been in my possessi on VX)ul d be cons idered VERY FINE . It was nec essary t o e nl arge the drawi ngs t o real i ze t he e ntire des i gn . Drawi ng L. 1 - St and ing Bowma n, 16mm round aver age , the s i ze may vary i n se ver a l mi l limet e r s l a r ger . L. 2 - Uncer tain as to a nima l spec i e , ass ume i t t o be ei ther a Wolf or Deer, approximat el y 15mm . L. 3 - A spread- winged Eagl e , 6x1 2mm, us ually elongat ed , healthie r conditi on and mor e defined then the • lat ter examples . L. 4 - Si de view R. of Bird , 10x15mm average . All s eem to be in a • poor state of preservation . L. 5 - Highly styli zed s ide view of Duck hol ding s tem with beak, 8xlOmm and 7x1 3mm . Thi s i s perhaps the best execut ed design of all the TVER is s ue . (whi ch consi sts of over 200 di ffere nt types) . Have f ound only a few whi ch are r ound with a ll the design s howing , al l oth er s are s truck off-cent e r with little of th i s interes ting des i gn showing . A good propor tion average VERY FINE whi ch l eads one to believe thes e we r e . s truck in the later 1480 ' s . L.6 - Thi s i s the only copper co i n i ss ued in th e reign of IVAN III . One of th e earlies t example s s howing t he Doubl eHeaded Eagl e whi ch was adopted from th e Byzantine Empine and later made part of the Rus s ian Coat - of - Arms .

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7.

IVAN IV as GRAND PRINCE

L. 7

1533-1547

KOPECK (GOSPODAR)

ri£ BERII-( 'AflIPb B V' py •

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9x13mm

OBV.

Crowned Prince with downwarU lance .

REV. PRINCE -{-- - ---1 GRAND LORD OF ALL RUSSIA

The three (3) Major Types of IVAN: L. 7 ~ Gospodar = Sovere; gn (no name of Monarch on coin) L. 8 Grand Prince (Denga only) L. 9 . Tsar NOTE :

1533-1547 1533-1547 1547-1584

All Wire Kopecks have vari ants in the legends, usual ly continuation of the second line on the first line . Example : KHSba M:Jst .often when a bi t off- center several letters may not show . In any case enough letteri ng remains to attribute for the ruler whereas the obverse may be so centered if a mint mark were to be on this kopeck it w:lUld not be visibl e . For all pract i cal purposes have found i t easier to place the l etteri ng side by s i de i n t his manner -

JlW t IlllfJJf:~n!!9J!C~.'f~ a l ittl e practice you are abl e to train your eye to pi ck out vari ous l etters gi ving you the clue to the ruler. The obverses can be decei vi ng as i t appears rarel y two obverses look the same . Wit h the exception of IVAN as PRINCE , the Denga coi nage has the same charact eri s t ic appearance .

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L. B

IVAN IV as GRAND PRINCE 1533-1547 DENGA (1/2 Kopeck) Approx. 6 to Bmm.

b

DBV. Uncrowned Prince hol ding upri ght saber .

REV.

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PRINCE -t+---i GRAND IVAN PSK Mint mark lTC.1( does not appear on all Denga coins .

This swag line, ' appears on other kopecks also , above or below a legend - more often above - its purpose not known .

L. 9

IVAN IV as TSAR (Better known as IVAN the TERRIBLE) 1547-1584 KOPECK 9x13mm

OB V. Wearing Crown, Robe, with . downward lance.

REV. TSAR AND PRINCE GRAND IVAN OF ALL RUSSIA

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9. L . 10

~ TSAR FEODOR IVANOVICH

1584-1598 KOPECK

Pbl1l{ £bBE III1 rf'lLOlI 11

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10x14mm

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AND

+----l PRINCE GRAND FEODOR OF ALL RUSSIA

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NOTE:

KOPECK OBVERSE is TYPICAL throughout. Ruler on horseback R, wearing crown with ceremonial robes, striking down with lance. -

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REVERSES OF DENGA (1/2 Kopeck ) L.10A



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L.10B



1

I 1

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TSAR

AND PRINCE GRAND FEODOR

TSAR ;-----j

AND GRAND PRINCE THEDOR

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L . 11 ~

TSAR BORI S FEODOROVI CH GODUNOV

1598-1605

15£

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10 t o 12mm Roun d or 14x11 1T1ll

REV. TSAR AND GRAND PRINCE BORI S THEDOROVI CH OF ALL RUSS IA

Godunov Kopecks have rrore varieties of mint marks an:! other abbreviations that appear on the obverse than any other rul er . Average condi tion VERY FINE and have fow1d several in EF with luster remaining . NOTE:

OBV.

Up to the t i me of a ny dat ed Kopecks will be necessary wi t h r eference to

this wr iting I have not fo und of Godunov . Therefore , it to refer to Dr . Lang ' s notes dat i ng .

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Below rider it will read 1'8 1599 Derived fran 7107 from t he Creation = Date . L. 11A L.1 1B L . llC L. llD L.ll E

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prI

7107 - 1599 7110 - 1602 7111 - 1603 7112 - 1604 7113 - 1605

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L . 1 2 ~TSAR DIMITRI IVANOVICH (The False Demetrius or The Impos tor) 1604-1606 KO PECK* (Dengas are not known)

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REV. TSAR AND GRAND PRINCE DMITRE IVAN OVICH OF ALL RUSSIA

*Dated Kopecks are said t o exist but I am dubious of this .

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EXPLANATION OF SHUISKY KOPECK DATED 1605 Trans 1ati on from SPASKY .. " During the period from 1611 t o

Dated 1605 Obverse of SHUISKY

L .13oe

1617 Sweden occupied tie Russian c i ty of NOVGOROD . The co inage which was i n circulation in that period was made by striking the reverse of the coins from the ol d di es of Vasily Shuisky but with a different obverse . Hence it is poss ible to obtain a coin with the name of Shuisky on th e reverse and the date of 1605 on obverse even though Shuisky was not procl a imed TSAR until 1606 . These Swedi sh occupat i on Kopecks were consi de r ab l y lighter in weight than those used during Shui sky ' s reign, 1606 -1610.

prl - 1605

12 .

L. 13

~ TSAR VASILEI IVANOVICH SHUISKY

1606-1610

KOPECK

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Pbll \

REV.

TSAR AND - - - - I GRAND PRINCE TT~ f 1115' ~ VASILEY IVAN ,.1-[:,}'1 111 If\. OVICH OF ALL

OB1\L{l:,

RUSSIA r- S1EVERAL REVERSES --,

(Actual Size)

L. 13A % L. 138 ~ L. 13C % L.1 3D L.1 3E %

PJlI PEl PU

- 1 606 -- 1607 -- 1608

1609 Not Known PUt - 1610

A curi ous shape like t his ~ appears on many of the Kopecks . Also o n all the coins dated 1610 above THE date appear 3 vertical bars or 1 horizontal and 3 vertical bars l ike t his (Unexplainabl e )

Drawing illustrates crude die cutting method · which reflects in the coining of the Kopecks----lines broken and design uncertain.

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L . 14 ~TSAR VLADISLAV

SIGISMUNDOVICH VASA 1610-1612 KOPECK (Dengas pos s ibly do not exist. ) REV.

TSAR AND GRAND PRI NCE +-_-1 VLADISLAV ZHIGIMOND OVICH OF ALL RUSSIA

NaTE :

All Wire Kopecks ani t l ast name of rul er - only PATRIARCHAL names spelled out .

£ . 15 ~

TSAR MIKHAIL FEODOROVICH (F.irst Tsar of the House of Romanov) 1613-1645 KOPECK REV. TSAR AND GRAND PRINCE MIKHYAILO THEDOROVICH OF ALL RUSSIA

14. L.1 6

TSAR

ALEXIE MIKHAILOVICH

1645-1676 AR KOPECK (The majority of these fJfl. Kopecks seem to be weakly struck - average condition FINE) 7x12mm Elongated Typical REV.

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TSAR AND GRAND PRINCE YALEKSEI MIKHYAILOVICH OF ALL RUSSIA

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L.16A k

NOTE:

in VERY FINE conditi on.

Tsars Ivan to Alexie reduced the weight of the Kopeck due to internal changes . During Alexie I s reign the value of rroney went down . Inflation l ed him t o the ultimate solution - he stopped minting s ilver Kopecks ; in its place copper was used , called "Copper I nflation Kopecks of Alexie". Silver was apparently hoarded, which accounts f or the extreme scarcity of the AR Kopecks . L. 1? ~

COPPER KOPECK Same legend as L.16, 7x12mm Elongated, Average condition VERY FINE, a bit clearer than the fJfl. type.

The copper Kopeck would cornmancl a higher Numisrratic value as an off-metal short-lived emergency • l.ssue.

15.

PETER I (The Great) TSAR OF ALL RUSSIA 1689- 1725 (Non- Ruling Tsar 1682 - 89)

All of the Kopecks of PETER are irregular, not one will have a full legend or full obverse. Many effaced. Sharp striking. Average condition is VERY FINE. Below are several reverses:

AR KOPECK Dating of Kopeck took place 1696 to 1717 .

DATED KOPECKS L . 18N/D

L . 18

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L . 18A L . 18B L . 18C L .1 8D L .1 8E L . 18F L . 18G L.1 8H L . 18J L .1 8K L .1 8M L . 18N L.1 80 L .1 8P

/{P

REv-

L .1 8Q L . 18R L . 185 L .18T L .1 8V L .1 8W L .1 8X L . 18Y L .1 82

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When date not shown. Effaced or off- centered . Mo Mint (Just before dating took place.) 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 CYRILLI C (Old ) 1700 (New) Dating System 1701 1702 Common Dat e 1703 Common Dat e 1704 Common Dat e 1705 1706 Common Date 1707 Common Dat e 170 8 I'm not positive thi s • date eXlsts . 1709 1710 1711 171 2 1713 1714 171 5 171 6 1717 Possibly a withdrawn l• ssue.

Other researchers list an AE Knn~ck nnTed 1701 -

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16. BI BLi OGRAPHY

D. M. LANG, Ph . D. : A Hoard of Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Russian Silver Coins ( i n Numismatic Chroni cle , Sixth Series , Vol . XI V, 1954, pp . 141-16 2) V•1. PEI'ROV: Cata l ogue Des Monnaies Russes

RUSS IAN DATE CH ART

170 2-

\700

17.0 \

4~

'-''J'4 ALJ't{ AlIJr

1104-

noS"

AlJJa nOB

nOb

1703

nOI

AljJE A4'S JlfJJ~ 17 0

9

AqJl.1 Atp&

nla

AljJl~

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17IZ

nl3

1114-

nlS"

AlPS I Al}Jrl A.lpl)1 AlJISI nib

.,17

ALpSI Atp3'

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