special mint designation is a company logo. In each country it can be different, there are no uniform standards. As a rule, these are abbreviations for the name of the city where the mint is located. But it can also be various graphic elements that distinguish a city or country. A coin of the same design may have different designations. mints, depending on the place of minting and the year of issue. Sometimes there are coins without a designation, but these are error coins, and they immediately become rarities.

Distinctive hallmark of the Russian Mint

FSUE Goznak is an enterprise entrusted with research, development and production of state signs, mainly coins and banknotes. IN this moment Russian coins are minted in the Moscow and St. Petersburg mints.

How to determine the mint on Russian coins?

One of the first questions of a novice numismatist. In fact, there is nothing complicated here. mint mark can be both in the form of individual letters, and their combinations. They are usually very small and magnifiers may be needed. To make it easier to distinguish Mint of Russia I'll tell you more about them.

If you look at the obverse of the coin in denominations of 10, 5, 2 and 1 ruble, then under the left paw of the eagle there will be a sign SPMD or MMD.

If you look at the obverse of the coin with a face value of 50, 10, 5 and 1 kopeck, then under the front left hoof of the horse there will be the letter M or S-P.

The coins of previous periods also had the designations L and M.

Mint mark on some coins of Russia

More details about the location and designation of the mint on coins:

If you decide to get carried away with numismatics, you should carefully approach the selection of items for your collection. To quickly and correctly determine the market value of a banknote, you will need knowledge about mints. The point is that the same banknote, released by different yards, can differ in price several times.

Before you start looking for an emblem, you should determine the year of manufacture. If the date could not be found, most likely this coin was issued back in the days tsarist Russia, and only an experienced collector will be able to determine the belonging to the mint. The fact is that earlier there were about thirty mints in the country.

Today, the question is relevant: how to determine the mint on a coin? However, in modern Russia, unlike the times of Tsarist Russia, there are only two mints - Moscow and St. Petersburg, whose emblems are displayed on the surface of the coins.

How can I find out what mint issued a coin? On products, their names are minted in the form of MMD and SPMD monograms. The letters M and S-P are displayed on penny coins.

If there are no mint emblems on the coins, they are a real find for collectors, and the value of such defective items will increase significantly. As surprising as it may sound, defective items are actually valued much higher due to their rarity.

Not every novice collector knows where the mint is indicated. In fact, this is not such a complicated procedure. To understand which court a coin belongs to, it is enough to take a magnifying glass and carefully examine its surface. Also, some collectors use a scanner or a camera.

Sometimes it is difficult for beginners to figure out how to distinguish between mints. On the coins that were issued by the Moscow Mint, the inscriptions are more rounded. This is one of the main differences.

On 10-ruble coins, the mint mark is located on the obverse, immediately below the face value. If the banknote was issued in the early 90s, then the emblem should be looked for on the front side. But on penny coins, the sign of belonging to the mint will be depicted under the front hooves of the horse on which the rider sits. In modern coins, the emblem is located on the reverse on the right side under the eagle's paw.

For those who do not know how to distinguish a mint, these features will be quite enough to independently determine the ownership of banknotes.

In Russia, only two mints produce coins - these are Moscow and St. Petersburg. I talked about them in detail in articles. But until now, many novice numismatists and ordinary coin owners are constantly confused in them, and sometimes I can’t find the location of the mint stamp on the coin. Because of this, it is not possible to accurately determine the market value of the coin, because the same denomination issued by different mints, although in rare cases, differs in price.

So on modern coins In Russia, including jubilee ones, you can find two abbreviations for mints: MMD and SPMD. The first, as you understand, belongs to the Moscow Mint, the second, respectively, to the St. Petersburg Mint. But it happens that the mint is not indicated, as it was with. In this case, the coin automatically becomes rare and expensive.

On penny coins, the letters M and C-P are used to designate the mint. They are located on the front side of the coin depicting a rider with a spear, under the hoof of his horse.

Looking closely at the designations on the coins, you can see the abbreviations SPMD and MMD. But what do these symbols mean and what are their differences? Let's analyze this issue in more detail.

Definition

SPMD coins- coins produced by the St. Petersburg Mint.

Coins MMD- coins minted by the Moscow Mint.

Comparison

The St. Petersburg Mint is considered one of the largest mints in the world, minting both ordinary and commemorative and commemorative items made of precious metals. It also serves as a place for the manufacture of insignia, medals, orders and other products from non-ferrous metal alloys under the state order. Founded in territory Peter and Paul Fortress in 1724. It is one of the most famous and oldest St. Petersburg enterprises. The main difference between the coins of the St. Petersburg Mint is the abbreviation SPMD, on modern Russian coins located under the right foot of the bird. IN different time they also had other letter designations: SP, SPM, SPB, SM, LMD, L.

Left - MMD; right - SPMD

The Moscow Mint is also one of the leading producers of coins, various insignia and medals. Carries out minting of coins by order of foreign states, works with private customers. It issues investment, commemorative and precious coins, which become a collector's item for numismatists. The year of foundation of the Moscow Mint is officially considered to be 1942. Together with the St. Petersburg Mint, he serves as a member of an association called the State Sign. On the coins of the Moscow Mint, under the right paw of the eagle, there is the abbreviation MMD or simply the letter M. On penny coins, the abbreviations of one or another mint are placed under the hoof of the horse.

Sometimes there are coins that do not have any letter designation. They are considered defective and are valued at several times their face value. These coins include, for example, five-kopeck coins produced in 2002 and 2003.

Findings site

1. SPMD coins are coins produced by the St. Petersburg Mint.
2. MMD coins are coins minted by the Moscow Mint.
3. Old coins of the St. Petersburg Mint can also be designated with the symbols SP, SPM, SPB, SM, LMD, L. Products of the Moscow Mint have only two designations: M or MMD.
4. The coins of the Moscow Mint can be produced by individual order, while the products of the St. Petersburg Mint are produced exclusively by the state order.

IN Russian Federation There are two mints: Moscow and St. Petersburg. They are engaged not only in the production of coins, but also in the production of orders and medals. In total, there are several dozen mints in the world, and each coin has an indication on which of them it was made. That's just on each coin the mint is defined differently.
Ask why it is necessary to determine the mint of a coin at all? This is one of the factors directly affecting the value of a coin in the numismatic market. Also, the cost is affected by the year of manufacture, product material, edge, condition and some other things.
Why does the value of a coin vary by mint? In many ways, this value is determined by the circulation of the coin, issued in a particular year at a particular mint. Relatively speaking, if in 2012 the Moscow Mint issued 4 million coins with a face value of 5 rubles, and the St. Petersburg Mint only 500 thousand, then the cost of the latter will be higher over time.

Mint mark on modern Russian coins

On modern Russian coins, the St. Petersburg Mint is abbreviated as SPMD on ruble coins and S-P on penny coins. The Moscow Mint is abbreviated as MMD on ruble coins and M on penny coins. It is curious that on the coins of 1992, the coins of the St. Petersburg Mint were marked with the seal L. There are also known cases of marriage, in which individual coins were issued without a mint designation. As a rule, such coins cost 10 times more than their face value.
Since the standard of production has long been established in mints, the place for indicating the mint is already strictly defined during manufacture. On kopecks (coins with a denomination of 1 kopeck, 5 kopecks, 10 kopecks, 50 kopecks), the mint indication is stamped on the obverse of the coin, under the left hoof of the horse, as shown below.

For ruble coins (with a face value of 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles, 10 rubles), the mint indication is stamped under the left paw of the double-headed eagle, in which the orb is located. On commemorative coins where there is no eagle image on the obverse, the mint stamp is on the side with the face value of the coin.
In most cases, it is enough to have sharp eyesight to detect the mint mark. However, if the badge was not found in this way, do not rush to rejoice that the coin is rare. You should carefully examine the coin with a magnifying glass or microscope.

As for Soviet coins, the mint mark began to be applied to them only from 1975. The first Soviet coins on which the mint mark appeared were: 1 ruble, dedicated to the fortieth anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and chervonets 1977. But on change coins, the mint mark began to be indicated only in 1990.

The mark of the mint on the coins of the Russian Empire

As for the older coins of the times Russian Empire, then there were several dozen courtyards on which coins were printed. It is quite difficult to find designations, since only on coins good quality the mint mark is quite clearly preserved. Nevertheless, consider the abbreviations that denoted certain mints.
AM. Found on coins of 1789-1796. The so-called Anninskaya coin was printed in c. Anninsky, Perm province. Mostly these were coins of 2 and 5 kopecks made of copper.
BK. Red and Naberezhny mints of Moscow. The BC reduction comes from the Big Treasury. Found on coins of the period 1704-1718.
VM (also M.W. and W.M.). Abbreviation for Warsaw Coin. It is found on coins of the period 1815-1915 (the period when the Kingdom of Poland became part of the Russian Empire).
THEM. Abbreviation for Izhora coin. Coins were printed in the period 1810-1821, mainly in denominations of 1 and 2 kopecks. Published in the village of Izhory near St. Petersburg.
KM. Abbreviation for Kolyvan coin. Coins were printed in the period 1767-1839. At first, only the so-called. Siberian coin, then from 1801 nationwide. The name comes from the Kolyvano-Voskresensky copper smelters Altai Territory on which the coins were issued.
MM. Abbreviation for Moscow Coin. Coins were printed in the period 1758-1795. It is found on coins in denominations of 1 and 2 kopecks.
CM. Abbreviation for Suzun coin. Coins were printed in the period 1831-1847 at the Nizhne-Suzunsky copper smelter (now located on the territory of the Novosibirsk region).
Also, the abbreviation SM was found on coins printed in Sestroretsk near St. Petersburg (1763-1767) and on St. Petersburg coins (of the Petersburg Court in 1797-1799 and the Bank Mint in 1799-1801).
TM. Abbreviation for Tauride Coin. They were printed in the city of Feodosia in the period 1787-1788. This "mint" is notable for the different denominations of issued coins, which was not typical of other regional "mints". So among the copper coins were issued in denominations from half a penny to 5 kopecks, and among silver coins from 2 to 20 kopecks.