Item number: A227

Year: AD 1917

Material: Silver

Size: 19.6 x 19.6 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 2.67 g

Manufactured by: St. Petersburg Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2015

This is a small-denomination 15 kopeks silver coin minted in the final year of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, in AD 1917. The obverse of the silver coin is engraved with floral motifs and a crown, along with the denomination and the year of minting, “1917.” On the reverse side is the double-headed eagle emblem symbolising the Romanov dynasty, with the initials “В.С” representing the surname of Victor Smirnov, the director of the Saint Petersburg Mint, inscribed below the claws of the eagle on both sides.

The 15 kopeks silver coins were also produced by the Osaka Mint in Japan, commissioned by Russia in AD 1916. The Osaka Mint minted approximately 96 million pieces of the 15 kopeks silver coins and around 70 million pieces of the 10 kopeks silver coins. A notable feature of these coins is the absence of the “В.С” initials on the reverse side. However, shortly after the delivery of these coins, the February Revolution erupted in Russia, leading to the abdication of the Tsar. As a result, only a small portion of these Japanese-produced 15 kopeks coins actually entered circulation before the events of the revolution.

Russia also commissioned foreign mints to mint their coins prior to World War I. In AD 1896, under the initiative of Sergei Witte, the Finance Minister of Russia at the time, Russia implemented the gold standard reform for the rouble, pegging it to the value of gold. To meet the demand for gold coins due to the public’s exchange of paper money for gold, Russian domestic mints focused on gold coin production. Consequently, the Russian government commissioned the mints in Paris and Brussels to mint silver coins, while the Birmingham Mint in England was tasked with minting copper coins. These foreign-minted coins were intended to supplement the production of Russian domestic mints.

However, with the outbreak of World War I, the highest decree on July 23, AD 1914, and the decree on July 27 of the same month, abolished the convertibility of paper money into gold. By early AD 1915, gold coins had disappeared from circulation, and silver coins became the primary means of everyday exchange. It was only then that Saint Petersburg resumed its production lines and commissioned Japan, which had remained unaffected by the ravages of war, to assist in minting silver coins.

物件編號: A227

年代: 公元 1917 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 19.6 x 19.6 x 1.1 mm

重量: 2.67 g

製造地: 聖彼得堡造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2015

這是一枚公元1917年，俄國末代沙皇尼古拉二世統治的最後一年，鑄造之小面額15戈比銀幣。銀幣正面鐫刻著花草和皇冠圖案，並且標示面額和出廠年份「1917」。銀幣背面則是一隻象徵羅曼諾夫皇室的雙頭鷹國徽，左右兩側的鷹爪下方鐫刻聖彼得堡造幣廠廠長，維克托·斯米爾諾夫的姓氏縮寫「В.С」。

公元1916年，俄國也曾委託日本大阪造幣廠鑄造15戈比銀幣。大阪造幣廠先後鑄造9,600萬枚15戈比銀幣和約7,000萬枚10戈比銀幣，最大特徵是背面沒有「В.С」姓名縮寫。不過這批日本版15戈比剛交貨就面臨促成沙皇退位的二月革命，故最終僅有少部分實際在民間流通。

早在第一次世界大戰前，俄國已經委託外國鑄造硬幣。公元1896年，時任俄羅斯財政大臣的維特推動盧布金本位改革，推行跟黃金等價的盧布紙幣。為應對民間以紙幣兌換黃金的需求，俄國國內鑄幣廠將主力投入金幣生產，故先後委託巴黎和布魯塞爾鑄造銀幣，英國伯明罕造幣廠則負責銅幣。

不過隨著一次世界大戰爆發，公元1914年7月23日的最高法令與同月27日的法令廢除紙幣跟黃金的兌換。公元1915年初，金幣已經從市面上絕跡，銀幣又成為日常主要流通的硬幣，聖彼得堡方才重拾生產線和委託未受戰火波及的日本協助鑄造銀幣。