This time around in our blog series covering Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Modern World Coins, authors Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker highlight the results of economic and social turmoil. A monetary system that reflects a communist regime, the next coin represents a brief stint in the early 1920s more so “important for their place in history than for their rarity.” Let us delve deeper into that viewpoint.
#56 – Russia 1921 Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Silver Ruble
After the Revolution of October 1917, in which the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia after launching a coup d’état, the aftermath would lead the country into an economic and social disaster. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, desired to redraw the political map throughout the entire world. After ousting the democratic government, they would continue their “reign of terror” where the country would see the worst of War Communism.
A decline in GDP, an unprecedented sort, would lead to industrial production dropping by 85 percent in addition to the national monetary system being deserted. An estimated 10 million Russians were reported to have died of hunger because of the collapse as the standard of living fell astronomically and was said to have rivaled those before the Industrial Revolution.
The Lenin government would be forced to face reality when it came to the economy and would plan a way to re-stabilize the Russian monetary system. They did this by implementing a bimetallic system based on gold and silver rubles. The first of the coinage was struck in 1921 and is referred to as the Star Ruble. This was due to a five-pointed start on the reverse, which resembled the symbol for global communism. Just one million coins were struck for circulation in addition to a small number of Proofs in 1921.
In 1922, the Leningrad Mint would double the production of the ruble and add the issue 10-, 15-, and 20-kopek coins to circulation for 1923. However, the life of this ruble was short as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic yielded to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Despite the change, the lower class still found themselves in the proverbial mud.
The coinage, despite its quick demise, represented a new phase for the world in the form of money of communist regimes. The coinage, according to authors Morgan and Walker, “prove that money, in all of its forms, is durable and necessary” despite “the far from ideal fairness and rationing for all or a society free from capital.” The RSFSR ruble was only struck for two years and has cemented its place in history and in this list because of its meaning more than its rarity.
Circulation strike rubles from both 1921 and 1922 can be purchased for under $500 up to a grade of MS63. Higher grades bring significantly more money. Proof versions are higher in scarcity and can bring upwards of $15,000 or more.