Armavir 1918 ruble
This specimen was lot 32356 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $4,080. The catalog description[1] noted, "RUSSIA. Civil War. White Movement. Copper Ruble Token, 1918. Armavir State Bank. NGC MS-63 Brown. Surpassed in the NGC census by just a single specimen, this token coinage was issued by the White Army in their failed bid to stave off the Bolsheviks. Highly Choice and enticing, with a pleasing strike and an alluring olive-brown hue evident throughout." This scarce and enigmatic issue was minted in by the Whites in their losing struggle against the Communists after World War One. Armavir is in the Russian Caucasus east of the Black Sea. Three and five rubles also exist.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8.11 g, copper, 25.9 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM-1; Bit-9.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Brekke, B. F., The Copper Coinage of Imperial Russia, 1700-1917, New York, Galerie des Monnaies, 1977, with 1987 supplement.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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