The fifteen-ruble coin of the 1924-the silver coin of the proletariat

The silver fifteen-ruble mark of 1924 is one of the most frequently found coins of that time. Probably, in each family somewhere in the piggy bank is stored at least one of its copy, not to mention the albums of numismatists.

Like any coin, fifty dollars has a number of its features and variations, which causes constant interest among collectors. There are more than 20 of its varieties, some of which are so rare and valuable that any self-respecting numismatist dreams of having them in his album.

Specifications

A half-ruble of 1924 was minted at the Petrograd Mint under the leadership of the Ministry of Petroleum Engineer Petr Latyshev in the amount of 26,559,000 pieces, the remaining 40 million were made in England, in Birmingham by Thomas Ross. Production capacities in a young country of the Soviets simply did not suffice, and it was necessary to resort to the help of foreign colleagues.

Weigh a fifty-kopeck piece of 1924, 10 grams, 9 of which are pure silver of 900 samples. The diameter of the coin is 26.67 mm.

Description of the coin

One half-ruble of 1924 on the reverse has an image of a blacksmith's figure with a hammer raised above his head. In front of him is an anvil with workpiece and sparks flying away from it, behind you can consider the attributes of peasant labor - plow, sickle, under the feet - wheels. The lower part indicates when the fifty-kopeck piece was made - in 1924.

On the reverse side (obverse) above the center is the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, on the sides - the letters SS and SR, respectively. Under the state emblem there is an inscription "One half-ruble", in a circle - "Workers of all countries, unite!". Obverse design has many similarities to a coin in one ruble of the same year of release.

Gurth contains information on the amount of silver (9 grams) and the initials of the head of the Mint:

• TR (Thomas Ross) - for coins made in England;
• PL (Petr Latyshev) - if fifty dollars were minted in Petrograd (Leningrad).

The image of a blacksmith on the reverse of fifty kopecks

The image of the hammer on the reverse of the coin is far from accidental. The young republic of the Soviets was only gaining momentum, and the cult of labor was in full swing. The worker, swinging the hammer over the anvil, embodied the best features of a simple working people: strength, will, love of freedom and kindness. The artist's message is clear: "Everyone is the smith of his own happiness," and given the year of the coin's release, happiness was the construction of a new world, a new free state of workers and peasants. A half-century of 1924 is a kind of agitation, like many other things of that era.

Rare copies with an Old Slavonic inscription on the head

In the environment of collectors, the usual fifty-kopeck pieces of 1924 do not cost more than 600 rubles, but there are also those whose value is several orders of magnitude higher.

At the very beginning of the coinage, some part of the circulation due to the negligence of the mint workers fell into the old crocheting rings that had remained since the tsarist times. The result of the human factor was the fifty kopecks having an inscription on the hill with an Old Slavonic inscription: "9 grams of silver (2 10 10.5 d)". Also, instead of the initials of Petr Latyshev and Thomas Ross, the letters BC - the name and surname of the former administrator Viktor Smirnov - were there. The owner of such a rare coin can sell it for at least 50,000 US dollars.

One fifty-five dollars (silver) with sparse initials

If you carefully consider the edge of this coin, you can see that there is a dot between the initials, but not everywhere. Instances without this sign at auctions cost about 8,000 rubles.

There are also initials of the FR, which stands for Thomas Ross, that is, the name Thomas is written in Russian. This trial small batch was released in England, such fifty dollars also at a great price. It is known only about five copies stored in private collections.

Other variants of the rare fifty-fifths of the year 1924

A small circulation of silver coins has been nicknamed by experts as "thin workers", since the size of the head of a slaughterer in this batch is somewhat smaller than that of the usual fifty kopecks. There are also differences in the thickness of the handle of the hammer, in the arrangement of the folds of the apron, in the form of a workpiece.

Another valuable fifty kopecks can be distinguished from the usual one by looking at the circular inscription on the obverse: the comma on a rare specimen does not come in contact with the inner rim, as on a standard coin.

In addition to those listed, there are options with a smooth coat, they also represent a great value for collectors, their average cost is 25,000 rubles.

A convex globe on the USSR coat of arms with a shorter ray of sun to the left of it is a sure sign that this fifty kopecks can be sold much more than its denomination.

The legend of a coin of 50 cents in 1924

The myths associated with the "silver hammer" have always been many. Until now, among novice collectors, there is a story that there is a coin of one half-ruble of 1924, cast from platinum. Allegedly a series of such half-ruble notes were struck with the aim of stealing precious metal from a coin plant under the guise of silver. However, there is no reliable information about at least one specimen from platinum. The appearance of this tale owes to one grief-numismatist who deciphered the letters of the PL on the edge as "platinum," but in fact it is clear that this is nothing more than the initials of the manager of the monetary alterations of Petr Vasilyevich Latyshev.

There is an opinion that in the near future the price even for ordinary fifty kopecks, minted at the dawn of the USSR by millions of copies, will grow, since they are produced in a state that does not already exist. Perhaps, now it is worth thinking about their acquisition, it will be a good investment of own funds.