Undoubtedly, each of us dreams of someday unearthing a silver Catherine ruble or a gold “Lobanchik”. But, let's be realistic, such luck does not happen as often as we would like, so today we will talk about a more frequent and simple find that everyone who digs in the old days has come across at least once. We are talking about a polushka, a small Russian small change coin worth half money, hence its second name – “poludenga”.
Standard – copper half of 1735
It has been minted since the end of the 14th century. up to 1916
Copper Pole of Peter the Great
At first the coin was silver, but starting from Peter I, copper half coins were introduced into circulation. They are the ones most often found in the fields. The value of such a coin is low, which cannot be said about the half coins minted in 1730-1734. from the cross kopecks of Peter II.
Polushka – minted from a cross kopeck
Such coins are very rare and can cost a lot of money; at auctions they sometimes go for $500.
Re-minted kopecks of Peter I the Great are considered especially valuable.
False polushka 1720
Also, sometimes you come across fake half coins that were minted by foreign mints. They can be easily distinguished from the real ones by several signs, for example, by the incorrect placement of the royal regalia in the paws of the eagle on the coat of arms – the scepter and the orb.
Polushka of Nicholas the First
So, it makes sense to take a closer look at your dug coins, in case there is a rare and valuable coin among them.
Have you looked at your albums of dug coins? Now look at identifying other finds , we have a lot of interesting and useful things!
