Where is the mint indicated on USSR coins. What are and where are located on the coins of Russia signs of the mint

Special mint designation represents a certain logo of the enterprise. In each country, it can be different; there are no uniform standards. As a rule, these are abbreviations of the name of the city where the mint is located. But it can also be various graphic elements that distinguish a city or country. A coin of one design can have different designations of mints, depending on the place of minting and the year of issue. Sometimes there are coins without a designation, but these are error coins, and it immediately becomes rarities.

The hallmark of the Russian Mint

FSUE Goznak is an enterprise entrusted with the research, development and production of state signs, mainly coins and banknotes. At the moment, Russian coins are minted in the Moscow and St. Petersburg mints.

How to determine the mint on Russian coins?

One of the first questions of a beginner numismatist. In fact, there is nothing complicated here. Mintmark can be in the form of individual letters or their combinations. They are usually very small, and magnifying devices may be needed. To make it easier to distinguish mint of Russia, I will tell you more about them.

If you look at the obverse of the coin in denominations of 10, 5, 2, and 1 ruble, then under the left paw of the eagle will be the sign SPMD or MMD.

If you look at the obverse of the coin in denominations of 50, 10, 5 and 1 kopeck, then under the front left hoof of the horse will be the letter M or C-P.

The coins of previous periods also had the designations L and M.

Mint mark on some coins of Russia

More information about the location and designation of the mint on coins:

The front side of the coin. The obverse of modern rubles depicts a double-headed eagle, on kopeks - a horseman piercing a snake with a spear. In Soviet coins, the obverse is the one where the emblem of the USSR is depicted.

The side of the coin, opposite the obverse. The reverse of modern Russian coins is decorated with floral ornaments, on this side the denomination is indicated by a number.

Hert - side surface of the coin.

Kant - a narrow protruding strip along the edge of the coin, performing the function of protecting its relief from wear.

Mint sign

Mint sign - trademark of the manufacturer. On modern rubles, the mint is indicated by the abbreviations SPMD (St. Petersburg Mint) or MMD (Moscow Mint), in kopecks in block letters "S" (St. Petersburg) or "M" (Moscow). The trademark is located on the obverse of the coin: in rubles, it should be sought under the paw of an eagle, in copecks, under the front hoof of a horse. An exception is commemorative (anniversary) metal money, in which the mint mark is located in other places, for example, between the branches of a floral ornament.

Mint mark on modern kopeks:

Letter "M"	The letters "S"

Possible options for designating a monetary enterprise on banknotes 1992-1993:

M - Moscow Mint	L - Leningrad Mint

MMD - Moscow Mint	LMD - Leningrad Mint

Coin Preservation Degrees

The condition of the coin (coin safety) is one of the main factors affecting its collection value.

The following degrees of preservation of the coin are distinguished:

Uncirculated (UNC) - Superior Condition. In this state, the coin should not have any signs of attrition, and all its details of the picture are usually clearly distinguishable. Coins in this state often have an original "hammered" gloss on the entire surface of their surface. In this case, the presence of minor traces of storage in bags in the form of small nicks or scratches and some other shortcomings is permissible.
About Uncirculated (AU, less commonly aUNC) - almost excellent condition. The coin has minimal, barely noticeable scuffs.
Extremely Fine (XF) - excellent condition. Coins in excellent condition have a very slight attrition of the most prominent small elements of the picture. Usually at least 90 - 95% of small parts are clearly distinguishable on them.
Very Fine (VF) - very good condition.. Metallic money already has a very noticeable fray, and somewhat smoothed details of the picture (as a rule, only about 75% of the details of the picture are clearly distinguishable).
Fine (F) - good condition. Good condition is determined by the pronounced wear of the surfaces due to the long stay of the banknote in circulation. Visible to about 50% of the original details of the picture.
Very Good (VG) - satisfactory condition. Significant abrasion of the entire surface. In Very Good condition, as a rule, only about 25% of the initial elements of the picture are retained.
Good (g) - weak condition Very intense scuffing. Usually, the largest design details are usually distinguishable.

Varieties

Collecting coins by variety is gaining popularity these days. Varieties are called copies of coins of the same denomination, year of issue, mint, which have any differences:

in the stamps used for minting the obverse and (or) reverse,
on the design and inscriptions on the edge,
material of which the coin is made.

The most popular catalogs of varieties of coins of modern Russia are:

Types of coin marriage

The numismatic value of defective banknotes in some cases is an order of magnitude higher than standard copies. The most common types of coin marriage are:

1. Bite (moon)

Defect in the production of blanks. Such a marriage is formed during a failure in the supply of a metal tape and if the tape is not completely displaced, then a semicircular “bite” from the previous cutting remains on the newly cut circle. Only specimens with pronounced bites or several bites on one coin are valued. The price of such coins at auctions usually does not exceed 1000 rubles.

2. Not minted

Non-minted images on a coin can appear both as a result of wear of working stamps, and as a result of insufficient impact force when minting. It occurs quite often. Of interest are only coins with strong non-minting, in which case the price of a coin can exceed 1000 rubles.

One of the most common types of coin marriage. This type of marriage is formed when using a destroyed stamp. A cracked stamp during coinage forms a convex line on the coin, starting from its edge. Of interest to collectors are only specimens with a pronounced split of the stamp going from edge to edge. The cost of such banknotes usually starts at 100 rubles and in some cases can exceed 1000 rubles.

4. The rotation of the obverse relative to the reverse

In the case of using stamps fixed with a certain rotation relative to each other for stamping, a marriage called “rotation” is obtained. The rotation angle can be from 0 to 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise. The price of copies with this type of marriage depends on the bias. The higher the angle, the more expensive the "turn" is estimated, but rarely when the cost of modern coins with a turn exceeds 1000 rubles.

Other types of marriage are much less common and are described in a separate article.

Where to sell a coin?

We have prepared a special one. We compared the best of them, indicating the advantages of each. You will also receive 10 recommendations that will maximize the benefits of the sale!

Hello dear readers. In this article, we will talk about how to distinguish mints by their designations on coins. An already beginning collector, looking at catalogs, sees that coins of certain years are distributed among the MMD and SPMD groups. Most of them confine themselves to looking at price tags, noting that coins, where under the hoof of a horse appear “S-P”, and under the paw of an eagle say “”, are sometimes more expensive than their Moscow sisters. However, those who intend to study the matter more deeply should understand that most varieties of the catalog are based on how exactly the initials of the mints of Russia are located on the coin field relative to other elements of the picture.

The designation of mints on the coins of modern Russia

After the monetary reform of 1997, the minting of metal settlement marks for cash payments in full took up both mints. For the mark of penny denominations decided to use mint initials - the letters "M" and "S-P". They decided to leave the location traditional: on the right side of the lower half of the coin field. Since George the Victorious, smashing a snake, occupies the kopecks with the date "1997" and later, it turned out that the letters found themselves under the reared hoof of the hero’s four-legged companion. They look there quite harmoniously. Ruble denominations adorn no longer letters, but logos mints.

The elongated logo of the mint of St. Petersburg almost imperceptibly survived the transformation from LMD to SPMD. But the emblem of the Moscow court has evolved somewhat. In 1997, the monogram, including the three letters "", was inscribed in an almost even circle. The emblem looked large and took up a lot of space on the coin field. Apparently for unification since 1998, the Moscow emblem appears in a flattened version and more modest sizes. However, it still looks more rounded than the SPMD logo.

For anniversary coins, one of the sides is completely given to the drawing, therefore issuer's designation "Bank of Russia" moves to the side where the denomination is located. The mint logo also goes there. For bimetallic coins of ten-ruble denomination, it is located in the center of the lower half of the coin field under the inscription "RUBLES". This is important to know, because coins with the same pattern may have different prices depending on which mint has issued one or another instance.

A case in point is when the mint designation is missing. It should be distinguished when it is a recognized variety (5 kopeks of 2002 or 2003 or a jubilee kopeck piece with Gagarin), and when the letter or logo is missing as a result of a banal non-piercing (50 kopeks of 2007 or dozens of bimetal). In the first case, you have enough valuable coin. The second case is a frequent coin defect and not a lot of money).

Scroll the pages of history back. In Soviet times, most of the coins were minted at the Leningrad Mint, therefore, the issue of designating the place of minting was updated only with the connection of the Moscow yard to mass issues of the circulation vodogovka. The exception is anniversary ruble “30 years of Victory”, where a careful look can reveal the elongated LMD logo to the right of the pedestal on which the grandiose monument “Motherland” is installed.

"MMD" and "LMD" on gold coins of the USSR

Mint abbreviations are also present on gold pieces, which from the mid-seventies he was ready to mint in the calculation of their purchase by wealthy Western tourists who had gathered at the Moscow Olympics. Here, one should turn to the 1981 Leningrad chervonets, which is a recognized rarity, while the Moscow coin with the same date does not stand out from the rest.

In the late eighties, experienced numismatists easily distinguished yards by date digits. But 1991 showed the letter "L" or "M" to the right of the coat of arms of the USSR (depending on whether they minted them at the Leningrad or Moscow Mint). We will see the same letters on coins of 10 and 50 kopecks new coinnicknamed collectors "GKChP". Ruble denominations have already acquired the brand names of the yards. Fives of 1991 have to put in albums in two versions. But more interesting is the situation with dozens of bimetallic ones. An elongated LMD logo separates ordinary coins from very rare specimens, where we will see a rounded MMD emblem.

And for fives and rubles with the date "1992" in the albums prepared as many as three nests. The Moscow Mint first minted coins with the logo, but after that the letter "M" appeared instead. In Leningrad, initially they began to mint these denominations exclusively with the letter "L". Of the trinity of fives of the year, coins with an emblem are found less frequently, although even they are not so difficult to find when systematically viewing heaps in those regions served by the Moscow Mint.

The designation of mints on the coins of tsarist Russia

Let's look into the history even deeper. If we take the fourteenth century, then the presence of a mint could boast of such cities as Ryazan, Novgorod, Pskov and Tver. True, rough blacksmithing technologies were mainly used here. Leadership gradually passed to the breech mint, created in 1534 in Moscow. And under Alexei Mikhailovich, the activities of nonresident mints were temporarily suspended, and the monetary business was concentrated in Moscow. In 1697, the Red Court opens, also referred to as Chinese because of its location near Kitai Gorod. He was measured the age of life, and during this period the coins issued at his facilities received the designation "KD", "MD" and "MM". Among Moscow yards, we also note Kadashevsky, who also had the designation "MD", but besides this also "MDZ", "DMD", "M" and "MOSCOW". For minting kopecks of silver and copper coins on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, the Naberezhny Mint, designated as “ND” and “NDZ”, operated.

But here rebuilt St. Petersburg, which received metropolitan status, where the Petersburg Mint opens in 1721. Starting from 1724, it was he who was given the right to mint silver coins. Initially, it was located right in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but by the nineteenth century it was being moved to Sadovaya Street, giving it the area of \u200b\u200bthe Assignation Bank, and then to a special building in Petropavlovsk. Over the years of its existence, he received the following designations: "BM", "SM", "SP", "SPM" and "SPB".

The vast expanses of Russia did not allow the transport of a sufficient number of coins, while the need for them only increased in connection with the successful expansion to the east. It was necessary to establish the minting of money in the newfound territories. So appear mints in Yekaterinburg ("EM"), the village of Anninsky of the Perm province ("AM"), Sestroretsk ("SM"). The Suzunsky Mint (“KM” and “SM”) also worked successfully. The Kolpinsky Yard provided money to Siberian lands (in different years - “IM”, “KM” and “SPM”). Coins of Tiflis were minted on the southern borders, and Theodosius was extremely short-lived (“ТМ” - “Tauride coin”). Poland as a part of Russia had a rather large degree of independence, including its own mint in Warsaw. The coins minted there have the designations "MW", "WM" (Warszawska mennica) and "VM" (Warsaw coin).

Just do not confuse the designation of the mint with the initials of the mitzmeister. Traditionally, on small and medium denominations, letters signifying the name and surname of the Mintmeister were placed on the obverse under the eagle, and we will see belonging to the mint on the reverse under the denomination designation. In determining the value of a coin in imperial Russia, the initials of mints are important. A coin of the same denomination with the same date could be minted in bulk by one mint, and the other issued it in an extremely limited edition. For example, 42,450,000 copies of two kopecks were minted with the date "1812" and the letters "IM", in Yekaterinburg (designation "EM") they made as many as 132,085,700 coins, while the letters "KM" received only 250 thousand coins.

Graphic and lettering on foreign coins

In conclusion, a few words about foreign coins. For the European year, sometimes the mint is also crucial. So complete collection of euro-couples should include five copies of the same German coin, distinguished by only one letter: A (Berlin), D (Munich), F (Stuttgart), G (Karlsruhe) or J (Hamburg). In the USA, at modern cents and dollars, mints are also distinguished by single-letter letters: D (Denver), O (New Orleans), P (Philadelphia), S (San Francisco) and W (West Point - only precious metals).

However, not all countries use lettering. So Paris Mint France uses the cornucopia as a symbol, and we will see caduceus on coins Royal Mint The Netherlands. However, here one should not confuse the logo of the mint with a graphic designation of its director, which may periodically change when the position changes hands.

The designation of the mint on domestic coins has a long history. In the Soviet period, it was practically not present on coin signs. But do not think that it was canceled by the Bolsheviks who came to power. In fact, the disappearance of the usual letters "St. Petersburg", separated by dots, was promoted by Emperor Nicholas II. Entering the military campaign of the First World War, the king launched the strongest anti-German sentiment in society. The surge of hatred for everything German was so powerful and fast that already in August St. Petersburg changed its name to Petrograd.

In this regard, the St. Petersburg Mint also becomes Petrograd, and the very same three letters "SPB" disappear from coins of penny denominations (the initials of Mintmeister Viktor Smirnov continue to be minted on silver). Thus began the release of "courtless" royal coins. However, the empire itself did not have to stay long on the political map of the world.

Logo LMD on the jubilee ruble

In the mass consciousness, the return of the mint designation took place in 1991, when the letters "L" or "M" appeared on the entire line of coins (depending on whether they were minted by the Leningrad or Moscow Mint). However, this is a misconception. For the first time, a trademark was minted on a jubilee ruble dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of the Victory. Below and to the right of the pedestal, on which the sculpture of the Motherland stands proudly, we can find the logo of the Leningrad Mint. The reasons why it arose once and never appeared on the Soviet copper-nickel anniversary anymore are unknown. We can say that the phenomenon went almost unnoticed. Few people paid any attention to a small trademark, so this logo did not linger in the memory of the people.

Since 1977, the designation of the mint in the form of a three-letter abbreviation appears on gold pieces of gold, in large numbers minted before the Olympics. There were hopes that foreigners would buy up original coins en masse. In 1981, the Leningradsky Dvor sharply reduced the issue of gold coins; therefore, Chervonets, bearing the designation LMD on the edge, are a welcome find among collectors of domestic investment coins. However, for most Soviet citizens gold pieces remained the realities of some other parallel world, therefore, here the designation of the mint was familiar to the initiates rather than to the masses.

M and L on 1991 coins

But to say that the massive return of the trademark took place precisely in 1991 is not entirely correct. The letter "M" to the right of the coat of arms of the USSR is also present on 1990 coins (denominations of 5 and 10 kopecks). It’s clear that this is a mistake when the stamping pair was made up of an obverse intended for 1991 coins and a 1990 reverse, which somehow lingered in the technological chain. These coins are quite rare and have a high price among collectors.

All coins of the new line, unofficially called "Coins of the State Emergency Committee", are marked with a mint. If dimes and fifty dollars are indicated by letters ("M" for ten cents and "L" for fifty), then the ruble denominations are already decorated with the logo. On the ruble, we can only see the elongated logo of the LMD, but the five, in addition to the Leningrad one, may have a rounded Moscow monogram (MMD is valued slightly more expensive, but it is not a rare coin). However, the difference in logos is most strikingly manifested in the price of a bimetallic ten-ruble. A dozen LMDs have been issued in a huge print run and are still a coin that is bought by weight. But if under the designation of the face value a circle in which the curly letters MMD are guessed, then the price of such an instance is immediately carried away above the ten thousandth mark.

Three options for the little things of 1992

A very interesting situation has developed for the lowest ratings of 1992. Due to hyperinflation, pennies were washed out of circulation. Therefore, the letter designations switched to coins in denominations of one ruble and five rubles. But the Moscow yard managed to mint a certain part of the circulation not with the letter "M", but with the logo of "MMD". Let's look at fives with three kinds of designations. If the "letter" coins are ordinary and do not represent any interest, then fives with a logo you will not find so often, and they have collection value (you can check on the basis of the auction passes of our site).

Higher denominations of 10 and 20 rubles immediately had a mint designation in the form of a logo. However, both yards worked hard here, and pricing does not come from the designation of the yard, but from the presence of magnetic properties for 1992 and from their absence for 1993. The logo also adorns bimetal, where Moscow coins are more valued.

M and SP under the hoof of a horse

The designation of the yard remained on the coins and after the denomination. But Leningrad regained the historical name of St. Petersburg, and the abbreviation LMD was transformed into SPMD. However, for a small bargaining chip, they decided to leave only the designation of cities (without mentioning the mint). And on penny denominations of 1997 the letter "M" appeared again. Almost in the same place as on the 1991 kopecks. And the letter "L" was replaced by a two-letter design with the point "C-P". The obverse of penny denominations is decorated with the image of George the Victorious, striking the snake with a spear. Therefore, we always remember, seeing the phrase "Look for the designation of the mint under the hoof of a horse", that we are talking only about cheap denominations.

MMD and SPMD under the paw of an eagle

Ruble denominations have on the obverse an image of a double-headed eagle (analogous to the emblem of the Bank of Russia - the emitter of money of the Russian Federation). Here the phrase "Looking for the designation of the mint under the paw of an eagle" is appropriate. It's not about letters anymore. Before us is the trademark of the mint in the form of the MMD or SPMD logo. A trademark, as it turned out, is not such a constant. If the ruble denominations adorn the MMD logo in the form of a huge circle, then over time it will become modest in size and noticeably flattened. But the SPMD logo is unchanged. It is worth noting that most varieties of modern weathering is exactly this or that arrangement of the mint's trademark relative to other elements of the picture on the coin field.

Lost Signs

They are unlikely to write an impressive novel such as "The Lost Symbol." But among collectors, coins without a yard designation are in steady demand. As in the union years, the Moscow Mint excelled here. For unknown reasons, he lost “M” on the part of the circulation of five kopecks in 2002 and 2003, as well as the MMD logo on the “Gagarinskaya” two-ruble in 2001. The price of such coins is thousands of times higher than their sisters of ordinary varieties. Therefore, fakes have become more frequent. Basically polish the logo on two rubles, and St. Petersburg coins often go into business. But the fakes of the pennies have already been identified, although it is technologically more difficult to cut off the sign from the clad coin imperceptibly. There are coins without designation of the yard and other years. But here it is important to remember that coins of recognized varieties are valued. If the drawing of the coin field in all details is indistinguishable from the familiar stamp where the courtyard is present, then this is just not minted. Of course, such coins are of interest, but the attention to them is much more modest than to the "legitimate" options without a logo or letter.

Moving the logo to the face value on the anniversary

On commemorative coins, the issuer and the trademark move to the side where the denomination is indicated, and it automatically becomes an obverse. The reason is clear - the other side is completely occupied with an image dedicated to an event, region or ancient city. On dozens of bimetallic logos are located at the bottom of the obverse. It is important not only in the collection plan (there are albums for the anniversary taking into account two-yard issues), but also in value. If you look at the price tag or the database of auction passes on our site, you will notice that the coins of one yard are somewhat more expensive than the exact same, but issued by another mint.

Since 2016, the eagle on the obverse of ruble denominations changes its appearance, returning to the classic imperial look. So we already saw him on coins in denominations of twenty-five rubles, dedicated to the Sochi Olympics. We are looking for the trademark of the mint on the banknotes of a new type in the usual place - under the paw of an eagle, although now it is turned up and occupied by the state. So far, only the Moscow Mint has been presented. But nothing prevents the St. Petersburg Mint from returning to minting the walker, and then once again we will see the SPMD logo under the eagle's paw.

Recent auctions prices for coins in Russian rubles

Coin description	G	Vg	F	Vf	Xf	Au	UNC	Proof
5 kopecks 2002 M from 2 to 15 rubles.	-	-	-	15	-	2	10	-
1 ruble 1991 LMD GKChP GKChP from 7 to 106 rubles.	-	-	-	-	7	8	106	-
1 ruble 1992 MMD from 21 to 110 rubles.	-	-	-	-	21	-	110	-
1 ruble 1992 M from 1 to 199 rub.	-	-	-	-	-	1	199	-
5 rubles 1992 MMD from 66 to 284 rub.	-	-	-	-	66	284	268	-
5 rubles 1992 M from 45 to 162 rubles.	-	-	-	-	-	45	162	-
1 ruble 1992 L from 1 to 110 rubles.	-	-	-	-	18	1	110	-
5 rubles 1992 L from 1 to 100 rubles.	-	-	-	1	6	8	100	-
10 rubles 2008 MMD Vladimir Vladimir (XII century.) from 120 to 278 rubles.	-	-	120	193	233	240	278	-

How to identify a mint

The first thing a beginner numismatist should learn is to determine the mint on which the coin was made. This skill is useful more than once, because in many ways, the value of a coin is determined precisely by where it was minted and in what quantity.

You will need

Instruction manual

Determine the year of issue of the coin

First, determine in which year the coin was issued. Mints appeared in Russia in the 11th century, but they did not immediately begin to indicate their emblems on coins. Quite often, just the initials of the master who made the coin were indicated. So, look for the coinage date on your coin. If you could not find it, but assume that the coin was issued during the time of Tsarist Rus, then in most cases only an experienced specialist will be able to determine the mint. The fact is that until the beginning of the 20th century, about three dozen mints functioned in Russia, and often their letter designations coincided. There will also be difficulties if the coin was issued in Soviet times, as Until 1990, the emblem of the mint was simply not indicated.

Where to look for the mint logo?

So, you are convinced that the coin was issued in the interval from 1990 to the present, the next step is to find where the emblem of the mint is indicated, or the abbreviation of its name. On the coins of the early 1990s, as well as on modern commemorative coins with a face value of 10 rubles, the sign of the mint should be searched directly below the face value. On coins from 1 to 50 kopecks, the mint's emblem is indicated under the horse's left front hoof, and coins from 1 to 10 rubles have a mark under the paw of a two-headed eagle on the right side. Thus, the mint can be indicated on the coin in three places, and inspect them.

Magnifier helps to consider the sign of the mint

What are the emblems?

Today in Russia there are two mints - St. Petersburg and Moscow, and it is customary to designate them with abbreviations. The Moscow Mint has the following abbreviations: M (coins with a face value of 1-50 kopecks), MMD (coins with a face value of 1 ruble). The St. Petersburg Mint is indicated as S-P (1-50 kopecks), SPMD (on coins from 1 ruble), L or LMD (on Soviet-style coins). It is possible to consider abbreviations well only with the help of a magnifying glass, but most often it is enough just to understand the first letter.

And if there is no logo?

If you carefully examined the coin from all sides and have not found the coveted emblem anywhere, this is also a good sign. If there are really no abbreviations, this means marriage. Yes, this happens at the mint. But in no case do not be discouraged, because due to its rarity, such coins are valued higher than usual.