Russia 1755-SP 5 kopeks
This specimen was lot 34929 in Heritage sale 3067 (Long Beach, September 2018), where it sold for $480. The catalog description[1] noted, "Russia: Elizabeth 5 Kopecks 1755-CПБ AU58 PCGS. Obv. Crowned regal arms. Rev. Crowned denomination. First year of issue for the type. A beautiful little sterling treat, with almost no signs of overt circulation, and a wonderful iridescent sheen emitting from the fields." This type was struck 1755-56 and is very scarce, verging on rare. In 1756, the diameter was reduced to 14 mm and struck to that module 1756-61. No further silver five kopeks were struck until 1797, while billions of copper five kopeks gushed forth from several mints.
Recorded mintage: 540,000.
Specification: 1.21 g, 0.802 fine silver, 16.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-C15.1, Diakov-349, Uzd-880.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Harris, Robert P., Guidebook of Russian Coins, 1725 to 1970, Santa Cruz, CA: Bonanza Press, 1971.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2018 September 6-11 Long Beach Expo World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction #3067, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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