Russia 1887-SP 1/4 kopek
This specimen was lot 341 in Sincona Auction 99 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 100 CHF (about US$151 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RUSSLAND Kaiserreich und Föderation, Alexander III. 1881-1894, 1/4 Kopeck 1887, St. Petersburg Mint, SPB. NGC MS64 RB."
According to the SCWC, the weight was reduced in 1894 from 3 g to 0.8 g but we think the weight reduction occurred earlier. This type was struck 1881-93. Proofs exist. The production of the copper coinage was farmed out to branch mints in the early and mid nineteenth century but after 1876 St. Petersburg was the sole producer of this denomination, also known as a polushka.
Recorded mintage: 1,000,000.
Specification: 0.82 g, copper, 13.2 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM Y29, Bitkin 210.
- 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.
- Harris, Robert P., Guidebook of Russian Coins, 1725 to 1970, Santa Cruz, CA: Bonanza Press, 1971.
- [1]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 99: Russian Coins and Medals, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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