Posted 08/09/2013 09:09 am
With Russian coinage, a lot depends on what period is used (there's no real agreement). If, however, you use the 1700-now period (most common in Russian numismatics), the lowest denomination is the half polushka (1/8 kopek) - a very rare one-year type from 1700 (mind you, it's not as ridiculously expensive as some of the more famous 18th-century Russian rarities - in January 2009, a low-grade holed example sold for ~$3000)... I probably would rather prefer to cheat somehow to ignore that pesky rarity! The highest here is the 100 ruble coin of 1992 and '93; both types are very common.
As for (circulation) silver, the lowest silver denomination was either* the 5 kopek minted almost continuously in the 19th century or the 1 kopek of 1699-172x [don't remember the exact date] which might not count because it was essentially wire money; I have both (1815 and 1709 respectively). A silver polushka (1/4 kopek) had been minted previously in the 16th century, but I'm not sure it really counts. Highest denomination is, to the best of my knowledge**, 1 ruble, minted essentially continuously from the 1700s until 1924; the later issues (1924 in particular) are worth barely over melt.
*) with two exceptions: the "Tauric" series 2 kopek of 1787 and the "Livonez" series 4 and 2 kopek of 1756; both are ridiculously rare, the former somewhar rarer than the latter, and it appears fairly likely that neither was actually intended as circulation coinage for mainland Russia
**) a silver 2 ruble coin was minted in 1722, known in two examples, but it probably was a pattern
As for (circulation) silver, the lowest silver denomination was either* the 5 kopek minted almost continuously in the 19th century or the 1 kopek of 1699-172x [don't remember the exact date] which might not count because it was essentially wire money; I have both (1815 and 1709 respectively). A silver polushka (1/4 kopek) had been minted previously in the 16th century, but I'm not sure it really counts. Highest denomination is, to the best of my knowledge**, 1 ruble, minted essentially continuously from the 1700s until 1924; the later issues (1924 in particular) are worth barely over melt.
*) with two exceptions: the "Tauric" series 2 kopek of 1787 and the "Livonez" series 4 and 2 kopek of 1756; both are ridiculously rare, the former somewhar rarer than the latter, and it appears fairly likely that neither was actually intended as circulation coinage for mainland Russia
**) a silver 2 ruble coin was minted in 1722, known in two examples, but it probably was a pattern
of course, a normal double eagle won't be all that cheap either, but at least it's not so ridiculously expensive!
