Mints of Russia

Mints are enterprises of a production type whose main line of business is the coinage of coins, the manufacture of orders, medals and other distinctive symbols. The history of enterprises goes back to the distant past, at the time of the appearance of the first monetary systems. Today, the mints are high-tech enterprises that issue coins at the request of the State Banks. All manufacturers work in a strictly classified mode.

Types of mints and a bit of history

Mints can be public, which fulfill the orders of the Central Bank. There are similar private organizations that specialize in the issuance of orders and medals, badges and license plates. For each type of enterprise, the presence of its unique brand, applied to all coins, is inherent. The belonging of coins of state and territorial type is determined precisely with the help of stigma. For the first time the mention of this category of production dates from the 5th century BC. The first mints appeared in Athens. From the 2nd century BC, production was transferred from the Temple of Theusa to the Temple of Juno. Already 115 years after the birth of Christ, the courtyard was in the Roman Coliseum. After the appearance of production in Rome, Lyon, Constantinople, in Sicily and Aquile, they spread throughout the world.

The first courtyards in Russia: the assumptions of historians

It is very problematic to imagine what the mint was in the past. Photo at that time was not done, sketching was not preserved. There are only guesses and guesses. There are facts that suggest that enterprises were transferred to private individuals, whose activities were subsequently closely monitored. People who mint coins were exempted from taxes and duties. They had privileges in terms of a ban on prosecution for all acts, other than murder, robbery and fraud. Historical records indicate that the very first mints in the territory of modern Russia in the past worked in such Greek cities of the time as Theodosius and Gorgippia, today known as Anapa. Traces of such production were seen in Derbent and Tmutarakan.

The first yard on the territory of Moscow: theory and guesswork

Organized coinage in Moscow, according to preliminary estimates and studies, began during the reign of Ivan Donskoy (1362-1389 gg.). No information about this yard and its location does not exist in historical notes, the fact of its presence was established, solely from the analysis of coins of that time. The first Moscow money was adorned with Russian and Arabic inscriptions, on them numerous technologically executed stamp ties were fixed.

Mentions from history

Mints of Russia, the presence of which is officially recorded, are based in the 14-15 centuries. At that time, the country was led by John III. Coinage was carried out not only in Moscow, but also in such cities as Pskov, Novgorod and Tver. In the period from the 16th to the 17th century, coinage was entrusted to the minceysters. This practice was common in Europe. There are also reports that in the 15th century not only state enterprises operated in Moscow, but also money shops of individual princes of the Kalita clan. The first recorded "sovereign" court appeared after one of Elena Glinskaya 's first monetary reforms in the period from 1535 to 1538. The enterprise was located on Varvarka Street. This event was the beginning of the unification of the Russian monetary system. Minted yards of Russia already many centuries ago issued uniform in weight and external registration of a coin, which were obligatory for reception on all territory of the Russian state. The embossing was carried out manually, and the material for production was silver wire. The wire was initially chopped into the same size parts, and then pressed them. Then began the manual knocking out images and inscriptions on smooth workpieces.

Centralization of money economy

In 1595, the department was formed under the name of the Monetary Order. The organization exercised control over coinage on behalf of the state. This step became the basis for the entire centralization of the money economy. All the courtyards, which at that time worked on the territory of the country, received official designations, which they needed to mark their products.

• The Moscow court is "M" or "MO".
• The Novgorod court - "V. BUT".
• Pskov yard - "PS".

Coins of Russia of 15-20 centuries

The answer to the question of how to determine the mint was made easier after each enterprise had its own crown marking. You can mention the following industries that contributed to the coinage of coins:

• Red courtyard, or Chinese. It is located near the Kitaygorod Wall. On the obverse and reverse of the coins were put the symbols "KD", "MMD", "MM". The production was in operation from 1697 to 1979. The yard produced gold, silver and copper money of national type with different denominations. Did and special coins. The Mint carried out the release of funds for the Baltic provinces and Prussia.
• Kadashevsky courtyard in the Kadashev Sloboda. He was also called Khamovny, Zamoskvoretsky, Naval and Admiralty. On the obverse and the reverse, the signs "MM" and "MD", "MDZ" and "MDD", "M" and "Moscow", "Coin money yard." The production worked from 1701 to 1736. Gold, copper and silver coins of various denominations were issued. Copper coins have been produced in a specialized production department since 1704.
• Quay copper courtyard in the Kremlin. On the coins such signs as "ND" and "NDZ", "NDM" were minted. He worked from 1699 to 1727, issued coins of all denominations.
• The St. Petersburg, or Imperial, mint was founded on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1724. The symbols on the coins are SPB and SPM, SP and CM. He worked until the issuance of money by the tsarist government was stopped. He took an active part in the re-minting of bronze coins.
• Yekaterinburg yard produced coins with the designations "EM" and "Yekaterinburg". He worked in the period from 1727 to 1876. The issue of coins was supplemented by the manufacture of mugs for other mints.

It is worth mentioning such enterprises as the Imperial Mint and Anninsky (AM), Kolyvan (KM and Kolyvan copper) and Suzunsky (SM) Sestrovetsky (SM) and Kolpinsky (KM) Taurian ("TM") and Tiflis, Warsaw ("VM", "MW") and Helsingfors.

Manufactures that did not use their insignia

The mint mark allowed to determine where and when a coin of a certain denomination was issued. However, in the history of Russia, courtyards were widely distributed that did not use their own insignia, but staked other brands on monetary units. This is the Bank's yard and the Rosencrantz plant, the Paris court and Strasbourg, Birmingham and Izhorsky, the Brussels courtyard and the Avesta. Moreover, some mints, such as Krasny or Petersburg, could use the insignia of Kadashevsky and the Naberezhnyi Copper Court and other similar organizations in their work, which significantly complicated the work of historians.

Coinage in the RSFSR and the USSR

In the RSFSR, to determine which mint produced money, helped designations:

• "AG" - these are the initials of Hartmann, who was at that time the head of the monetary reorganization until 1923.
• "PL" - the initials of Latyshev, the chief since 1924.
• "TR" - the initials of Thomas Ross, the head of the monetary redistribution of the London Court.

The sign of the mint during the existence of the USSR was of two types:

• "LMD" or "L" - the Leningrad Mint.
• "MMD" or "M" - the Moscow Mint.

Such a sign acted and serves as a kind of symbol of the coin's belonging to a particular production. The symbol can have the form of letters, and can be presented in monogram, figure or sign format.

Modern Russia

In modern Russia, the following designations can be found on coins: "MMD" and "SPMD" - which speak of their release either in the Moscow or St. Petersburg Mint. Since 1991 on the money it was accepted to put signs like "M", "L", "MMD" and "LMD". Since the period of 1997 - this is "M", "SP" and "MMD", "SPMD". The last two symbols were applied to money in the form of a monogram. Coins of Russia, since 1997, are decorated with inscriptions "M", "SP", "MMD" and "SPMD" in monogram format. On small coins with denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 kopecks a sign can be seen on the right side under the hoof. Signs "M" and "S-P" on coins with a face value of 1, 2 and 5 rubles are located under the right paw of the eagle. The monogram "SPMD" can be seen on the anniversary banknotes of Russia with a face value of 10 rubles. It is located on the obverse, right below the inscription "10 rubles".

How coins are manufactured in 2015

Since 1992 the Central Bank of Russia has been issuing commemorative coins of both precious and non-precious format. Moreover, the issuance of investment coins, which are completely minted from precious metals, is systematically carried out. Thus, as before, on each of them the mint sign is put. The coinage process is carried out within the framework of the main issuing activity and is planned for the entire preceding year. The plan for the issuance of coins is approved by the leadership of the Central Bank and then placed on the official website of the latter. Each collection coin is issued either at the Moscow or St. Petersburg Mints. This simplifies the search for an answer to the question of how to determine the mint. Coins are decorated with special signs, which today total 4. The central bank of the country has no right to distribute collectible coins among individuals. The main distributor is Sberbank. Coins are initially bought up in the first wave by speculators, who later sell them at an inflated price.

Government Plans for 2015

In accordance with the emission plan, in 2015, two types of investment banknotes will be stamping. During the year, 73 commemorative precious coins and 12 commemorative coins made of base metal will be produced. In the future, it is worth continuing the release of the series that were started earlier: "Cities of Military Glory" and "Outstanding People of Russia". The most expensive coin in the history of the country is dated 1999 and has a face value of 5 kopecks. Its exact cost is unknown, but it significantly exceeds the amount of 100 thousand rubles in the open auctions. Such types of coins are especially appreciated by numismatists.