Old Russian coin found in Nebraska yard

mr1931S

I thought i'd do a separate thread on this find (11/17) which i consider quite extraordinary.I was detecting in a friend's yard this day and decided to work the back yard. Jeff and i had found a few wheats and some clad in the front yard on prior visits but no silver.The large back yard might yield a bit of silver was my thinking so,armed with my loaded-with-fresh-batteries Landstar off i went,by my myself (Jeff had to attend work), to this yard.

i had spent about an hour and a half hunting and found a total of 37 cents;clad quarter,1957 D dime, and two early Memorial cents.I thought at this point that i'd give the hunt another hour or so since i did turn up the silver dime.

At about the center of the yard,and close to quitting time for the hunt for this day ,i got this very solid,bright pinging sound from my Landstar.It was indicating "$1" and the arrow was not budging from this indication as i went over the target in an "X" pattern.

A very large circular object was unveiled as i lifted the plug out of the ground.i rubbed the dirt off the piece and quickly determined it was a Russian coin; 5 Kopeks,dated 1803!

When i got home i put the large copper piece in some mineral oil and removed most of the remaining dirt. A check on the Numismaster site gives a value of $15 in VG,$30 in F.The coin does have a very small and neatly made hole at the top which cannot be seen in my pictures so i derive a value for it,if i were to sell it,of somewhere between $10 and $15.

This coin is getting a permanent home in my collection,however,as it represents a number of detecting firsts for me. Images can be be seen in the November "QUALITY" thread.I have entered my Russian coin find in the best non-US category for November.

millennium

WOW........that is odd....what the heck is a coin from Russia, dated that old, doing in Nebraska?...

pocketpiececommems

Would this be an area were the Volga Germans settled when they came over from Russia?

BunchOBull

Are there pictures in a different thread?

stevek

<< <i>WOW........that is odd....what the heck is a coin from Russia, dated that old, doing in Nebraska?... >>



Ask the old lady named Anastasia Nikolaevna who lives next door.

mr1931S

Are there pictures in a different thread?

Yes.I entered this find in the November "QUALITY" finds thread; Category entered is best non-US coin.Images can be seen there.

demodigger

interesting find. a friend of mine dug a similar coin just last week. his came from an orchard i've hunted on/off for several years

mr1931S

<< WOW........that is odd....what the heck is a coin from Russia, dated that old, doing in Nebraska?... >>

It's highly likely someone was using this coin as a jewelry piece ie.,a necklace. A sturdy chain would be in order to ensure that this very heavy coin (over 50 grams) wouldn't break free,however.

The US half dime would be the approximate monetary equivalent of 5 Kopeks in the early 1800's.

ricko

Very cool find.. congratulations... Cheers, RickO

lordmarcovan

That is totally STUPENDOUS, as I mentioned on the "Quality" poll entry thread where your images are.

goossen

great find!

speer34

Mr1874,

A great coin and very deserving of the Non US coin of the month.

Congrats,

Scott

mr1931S

Would this be an area were the Volga Germans settled when they came over from Russia?

i live in the panhandle area of Nebraska.I was doing some research and found that Czechs settled here in the 1880's. There are some still-standing buildings here, built by Czechs, that are in the style they used in the "old country."

It's not clear to me if the Czechs used Russian money in the old country,however. There is the possibility that this piece made its way here when the the Czechs settled in this area.

Thanks to all who voted for my find.