Kopeck - Ekaterina I Plate money

I came upon... what appears to be an Ekaterina I Plate money Kopeck today, and I am trying to research it for authenticity purposes. There are several copies out there, such as this and this, but they have a great deal more definition than this specimen.

This specimen is 15g and ~25mm

NGC has the eagle at 16mm; Numista does not have a weight or size. There is only 1 in coinarchives at 19.47g

Coinarchives description contains: (Bit 360 [R-4]; Brekke 34), but I do not have these references.

as background Spink sold one (at spink) and Stacks sold one (correction @Victor_Clark pointed out that both of these were withdrawn from sale)

if any Russian numismatists are on the forum and could give me a pointer in the right direction for how to go about the research on the item, please jump in on the thread and provide advice/opinion etc..

I copied a pic from the Standard Catalog of World Coins for the item, but it does not have the weight or size (it does have size of eagle and that matches).

 

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This is the side of the specimen

 

both of those were withdrawn from sale

 

good catch

 

Nice piece. I hope it is a real one. Looking forward to other responses.

 

I didn't know until today that coin collecting in Russia was illegal until some time in the 20th century... makes me wonder how so many have survived.

I did find that this was a good article, but the only thing I'm now questioning once reading it is the color (lack of blue-green tones of malachite). I can't really test the metal composition as I don't have XRF.

 

I did see a counterfeit on numistika.com and here. Not much intel on how to identify the fake, but there are some great images of fakes in the catalog. There is also a list of books.

 

I have no special expertise, but given the rarity of the coin and the number of fakes of Russian coins out there, I would be very skeptical of this one.
The wear and copper patina are also not what I usually see for coins of that age.

Here are some typical 1700s copper surfaces for comparison (not Russia)


And here's a 1700s Russian 5 kopecks

 

Thank you for your response. Yes, the patina is definitely different and a big red flag. Yours are smooth, and the patina evenly blends in as typical for copper. I also am suspect of the uneven lettering.

The only thing I'm wondering about is would a crude cleaning make these marks and also remove the patina.

I wish I could find a 'good' photograph of a verified real one to compare lettering. Still looking.
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Here are other images I've found a, b, c, d, e and a good story here and here.

 

After a lot of digging on yandex.com, I found numerous fakes/restrikes of all variations, and then I finally found one that appears to be the real thing. First, a handful of the fakes:


However, this one is reported as being the real thing (however, I can't find the auction to verify this) This info is from http://top5-top10.ru/top-10-samyx-dorogix-starinnyx-monet-rossii/




I also learned a bit of history from this site: https://copycoins.ru/plata-1-kopeyka-1726-goda-serebro-proba-god-po-uglam

"The bulk of Russian coins at the beginning of the 18th century were minted from silver. However, the active phase of the Northern War (1700-1715), the reform reforms of Peter I, the creation of a new army and navy, as well as the accelerated construction of St. Petersburg in the 20s of the 18th century demanded more and more of this precious metal. Internal sources of replenishment of silver reserves were almost completely exhausted - there was nothing to take from the impoverished population, and the boyars and the clergy did not want to share their reserves with the treasury.

An illustration of how the clergy "supported" the reforms of Peter I can serve as an example typical of that time. To hide church riches from the tsar, the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra hid about 27 kg of gold and 272 kg of silver in the monastery wall. As a result, this treasure lay in the wall, not needed by anyone, for about 200 years.

After the death of Peter I in January 1725, many issues remained unresolved in the sphere of monetary circulation of the Russian Empire, the treasury experienced a huge payment deficit. At the same time, the extraction of red copper increased annually in the Urals, as a result of which a certain excess of this metal even formed. Even during his lifetime, in 1724, Peter I sent Vasily Tatishchev, a prominent statesman and expert in mining, to Sweden, a man known in the Urals, to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the Swedish monetary system. It was in Sweden that Tatishchev learned about square copper coins made in the form of plates, which were minted 60 years before his arrival. Since the denomination of the coins-plats approached the cost that went into their production of copper, they were full-fledged money and served as a guarantee of the stability of the Swedish monetary system.

At the same time, square coins did not require highly skilled workers and sophisticated equipment for their manufacture, and besides, their minting was much cheaper than the production of ordinary coins. With such coins-payments, Peter I planned to replace the nickels that were in circulation at that time, which were made on the basis of 40 rubles from a pood of copper at a metal cost of about 5 rubles per pood (16380 gr.). Lightweight nickels were easier to fake. In those years, there were a lot of fake nickels in circulation, which, of course, did not suit the tsar. However, Peter did not have a chance to see the Ural coins.

Already after the death of Peter I, financial advisers to Catherine I Alekseevna suggested that she replace the silver coin with a copper one, using the Swedish experience for this. The introduction of a copper coin in Russia was supposed to significantly reduce the cost of the treasury for the purchase of expensive and scarce silver. In addition, Ural copper was an order of magnitude cheaper than bought abroad, both Swedish and Hungarian.

Catherine I did not hesitate for a long time and in June 1725 issued a decree on the minting of new square copper coins at the Yekaterinburg Mining Plants, based on the calculation of 10 rubles from a pood of copper. Such was the price of copper in those years. It did not take into account fixed (production) costs. To organize the redistribution of coins (production) to the Urals, the Swedish master Deykhman and his assistant, a minister for mining affairs, K. Gordeev, were sent. Control over production by the state was entrusted to the chief manager of the state-owned Ural factories, Willim Gennin.

Square coins with denominations from the hryvnia to the ruble were issued in the form of copper plates, on the front side of which, in the corners, double-headed eagles with three crowns were minted. On the chest of the eagles was a shield depicting the monograms of Catherine I (two letters "J" and "E"), and in their paws they held the orb and the scepter. In the center of the obverse side of the board there was an imprint indicating the denomination of the coin, the year of issue and the place of minting. The reverse side of the coins was smooth. The main circulation of copper coins-boards was minted in 1726 and amounted to 38,730 rubles. Also in 1726, square nickels and kopecks were issued, which had a slightly different front side pattern (see photo below).

A square coin with a denomination of the ruble had a size of 188x188 mm, weighed 1.636 kg and was minted for two years - in 1725 and 1726. Half a tin weighing 800 g was produced only in 1726. But half a half was minted in 1725 and 1726. The weight of half a half was 400 grams, and it had 4 varieties.

Square coins in denominations of 1 hryvnia were minted for three years, from 1725 to 1727. Their size was 62x62 mm, and the weight was 163.8 g. In 1726, as many as 6 varieties of hryvnias were issued. As a result, they became the most common square coins, which accounted for about 80% of all copper plates issued in Yekaterinburg.

Piataks and kopecks were minted only in 1726. The penny was issued in two varieties, had dimensions of 23x23 mm and a weight of 16.38 grams. Pyatak was minted in three varieties, had dimensions of 45x45 mm and a weight of 105.95 grams. These coins have become the rarest, since they were issued in total in the amount of 43 rubles 51 kopecks.

Despite the fact that square coins could become quite full-fledged, this still did not happen. On December 31, 1726, by decree of Catherine I, the production of boards was stopped, and the coins were withdrawn from circulation. According to the decree of October 29, 1737, the coins were sent for remelting. The resulting copper was used to make money and half coins of the 1730 model.

As a result, a negligible number of these rare coins have survived to this day. Their short stay in circulation and the subsequent melting down made copper plates into the category of exclusive old coins, the value of which today simply rolls over. Not every numismatic auction can offer to buy or sell these rare coins today. Often, copper boards put up at auctions are banal fakes."

If the auction example above is indeed the real deal... and this site is accurate,"The rarest coin of the Russian Empire. To date, only ten surviving copies are known. Valued for its unusual square shape and weight. The coin was minted in 1726 in Yekaterinburg. The size of a penny is 23 X 23 mm, weight is 16.38 grams. Square coins in the Russian Empire were minted after the death of Peter I under Empress Catherine I from copper. The country was in a difficult financial situation, and the Ural copper was the cheapest. It came to a curiosity: the ruble copper coin had dimensions of 188 x 188 millimeters and weighed as much as 1 kilogram 636 grams and was minted for two years: in 1725 and in 1726. Half a half weighed 800 grams, half a half - 400 grams. Square nickels and kopecks were issued only in 1726. Square coins became a rarity after Catherine ordered them to be withdrawn from circulation and sent for remelting." then the probability that this is real is extremely low... Even comparing the eagle's eyes between both provide enough evidence to say it is a fake.

 

I'm with you. Instinctively, I don't like it. The lettering looks really suspect.

 

Sweden 4 daler plåtmynt 1734:

 

Technology back in the day did not have precise scales for copper coins. These were often weight in batches and as long as they are within "acceptable tolerance", they are "ok". For instance a 5 kopek in that era is supposed to be about 50 grams and I have seen examples that range from 40 - 80g.

Everything about the shown example is just not right. The biggest flag would be the crowns are substituted with balls. The monogram also looks wrong. It is supposed to be George on horse slaying a snake / dragon and it looks like a pet dog???

This is an excessively rare coin. An example sold perhaps 10 - 20 years ago went for 50k+ if I recall correctly.