ID/value help needed

spoon

My grandmother showed me this one today and asked my thoughts. She picked it up on a trip through Ukraine/Russia in the late 80s or so for about $60. She had the bezel added Pics are quickies done on the dining room table.

What I know: It depicts the Luna 9 probe, which was the first object to make a soft landing on the moon. Obverse says "Luna 9", at left incuse is "MDSSSR", at right looks like 900 / 10g (but I'm not sure on that). Reverse says "January 1966". I couldn't measure it, but I'd give a wag of 26mm or so (minus bezel).

So, anyone ever see this before? When was it actually made and by who? Is it part of a series? Is it actually gold, if so, AGW? Premium over melt? What's MDSSSR stand for?

Edit - all I could find on google were references to "coins" from Tokelau and Niue, etc "commemorating" Luna 9... @#$% micronations!!

Thanks!

SaorAlba

These medals were created by Moneti Dvor - literally the Leningrad mint - to commemorate events important in the USSR at the time. These were minted in .900 fine gold and as this piece attests to, is 10 grammes in weight or just less than 1/3 of an ounce. The crazy part of them is that until the 1990's it was impossible for citizens of the then USSR to own these and most people would have never known they were created - because they were only sold to foreigners through Mezhnumizmatika in Moscow. They were sold at ridiculous prices then so sales were not voluminous. Prices on them are literally just about melt value because no real market for them has yet developed, I have bought some similar medals myself for melt because the market is just not there yet for these. But I consider them a diamond in the rough, they were minted in small quantities, not many sold, the remainders were destroyed and collectors in Russia still largely don't know about them.