I recently bought this 5 Kopek coin. I'm a bit concerned as it is overweight. This example weighs 59.6 grams whereas its supposed to weigh about 51 grams. Is this normal for coins of this type and is the coin real?
The weight for Catherine II 5 kopeks was (supposedly) originally checked in lots of 1000. This was great for catching problems with average weight (such as, you know, mint workers trying to profit by making lighter coins) but let a lot of individual variation fly by.
It is said, IIRC, that the weights for the type varied from 30 to 80 grams; those figures must be the extreme edges of the range, and normally the variance was within a few grams. Even so, your 59.6 grams is hardly out of the ordinary. (I've seen at least one other ~60 gram example myself, though sadly did not buy it.)
So yes, I'd say your coin is probably real (at least, if there aren't any other big signs of something wrong - I'm not an expert). It's a fairly common date, anyway.
Thank you for your help. I'm glad to hear that the weight isn't abnormal as it is quite nice coin and it'd be a shame if it was fake. I cant see anything that makes it stand out as fake but I'm not particularly experienced in spotting them. Perhaps someone else may notice something.
Does the weight inconsistency also occur with the 5 Kopek coin of Empress Elizabeth? The only reason I ask is that my Elizabeth 5 Kopeks seems much more uniform the my Catherine one. The planchet is more even on the Elizabeth coin.
Citeer: "cmaclean"Thank you for your help. I'm glad to hear that the weight isn't abnormal as it is quite nice coin and it'd be a shame if it was fake. I cant see anything that makes it stand out as fake but I'm not particularly experienced in spotting them. Perhaps someone else may notice something.
Does the weight inconsistency also occur with the 5 Kopek coin of Empress Elizabeth? The only reason I ask is that my Elizabeth 5 Kopeks seems much more uniform the my Catherine one. The planchet is more even on the Elizabeth coin.
Maybe, can't see why it would be different; though admittedly I haven't researched it much.
My (only, so far) example of the Elizabeth type is noticeably clipped but has the correct 51 gram weight (the dealer weighed it for me), and I'm not sure if it was clipped before or after strike.
The dealer claimed that the planchet was clipped specifically to correct the weight; sadly I can't recall at which point in the missing process this was supposed to happen. As evidence of minting practices, it could really go either way.
(In any case, best I could figure out, the clip only took up about 3% of the area, so it wouldn't have changed the weight that much anyway.)
As it seems is a fantastic real coin. Varieties exist.
You will notice the different in the wreath under crowned monogram in the right ,from the photo that exist in En Numista and in yours.
From the mintage of the coin is hard for counterfeit .
For copper coins of Greece before 1900 i have see many copies for tourist reasons.The grams are the same.
I believe that China copy industry have not reach in copper coins of Russia empire yet..........
Can you inform us the price that you bought it. ?
Citeer: "cmaclean"Thank you for your help. I'm glad to hear that the weight isn't abnormal as it is quite nice coin and it'd be a shame if it was fake. I cant see anything that makes it stand out as fake but I'm not particularly experienced in spotting them. Perhaps someone else may notice something.
Does the weight inconsistency also occur with the 5 Kopek coin of Empress Elizabeth? The only reason I ask is that my Elizabeth 5 Kopeks seems much more uniform the my Catherine one. The planchet is more even on the Elizabeth coin.
Maybe, can't see why it would be different; though admittedly I haven't researched it much.
My (only, so far) example of the Elizabeth type is noticeably clipped but has the correct 51 gram weight (the dealer weighed it for me), and I'm not sure if it was clipped before or after strike.
The dealer claimed that the planchet was clipped specifically to correct the weight; sadly I can't recall at which point in the missing process this was supposed to happen. As evidence of minting practices, it could really go either way.
(In any case, best I could figure out, the clip only took up about 3% of the area, so it wouldn't have changed the weight that much anyway.)
It wouldn't surprise me if the increased demand for coinage during the reign of Catherine II led to corners being cut at the mint.
Citeer: "5element"As it seems is a fantastic real coin. Varieties exist.
You will notice the different in the wreath under crowned monogram in the right ,from the photo that exist in En Numista and in yours.
From the mintage of the coin is hard for counterfeit .
For copper coins of Greece before 1900 i have see many copies for tourist reasons.The grams are the same.
I believe that China copy industry have not reach in copper coins of Russia empire yet..........
Can you inform us the price that you bought it. ?
Thanks for taking a look at it. I bought it for £24.
There is something beautiful about the large imperial coppers. They are crude when compared to some of their contemporaries but the crudeness gives them a sort of charm. I have a few more Russian coppers on the way, including two of Peter the Great, I will post them when they arrive.
Citeer: "5element"As it seems is a fantastic real coin. Varieties exist.
You will notice the different in the wreath under crowned monogram in the right ,from the photo that exist in En Numista and in yours.
From the mintage of the coin is hard for counterfeit .
For copper coins of Greece before 1900 i have see many copies for tourist reasons.The grams are the same.
I believe that China copy industry have not reach in copper coins of Russia empire yet..........
Can you inform us the price that you bought it. ?
Thanks for taking a look at it. I bought it for £24.
There is something beautiful about the large imperial coppers. They are crude when compared to some of their contemporaries but the crudeness gives them a sort of charm. I have a few more Russian coppers on the way, including two of Peter the Great, I will post them when they arrive.
copper coins of Peter the Great are often faked, it is better to post them))
such weight deviation is normal for this coin. Can you post a photo of edge?
My personal list of scammers from Numista: erniemix, yvain, CassTaylor
