Expert: Brad Swain - 2/15/2010

Question
Hello, I recently return from Afghanistan (I'm in the military) and while there I was gifted a coin and was wondering if you could provide some information about it... From looking at pictures on the Internet I have found that it is a 1897 Russian Rouble with Nickolas the 2 on the front and a double headed eagle on the back. The one thing I found very odd about it is the fact that on all other coins I have seen they all have the denomination on the back. IE: 15 for 15 roubles ect. This coin has no domination and does not appear as if it ever had one. Any answers to this mystery would be greatly appreciated. Thank you



David Weidner

Answer
Hi David, any coin bought in Afghanistan is likely to be a fake.
There were 18.5 million of the 1897 Russian 1 Rouble coins minted that year. The mint official's initials should be on the edge and look like an A and an upside down L. The denomination, Ruble, should be to the left of the date and would look like RYbAb.
This coin should weigh 19.996 grams and would contain .5786 of an ounce of silver. If genuine collector value may be worth about $10 with heavy wear to around $30 with moderate wear to maybe $60 with light wear.
World coin pictures and some values may be found here: http://worldcoingallery.com/index.htm ,
http://www.coinarchives.com/ , and http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis.jsp .
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Counterfeits and fantasy pieces mass produced in East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe abound of Chinese and U.S. coins, and many other countries'.
Chinese counterfeit factory: http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/Chinese-Fake... .
Brad