Originally published on February 11, 2014
With the Olympics finally here Russia has put together some interesting offerings. According to reports I have read, a total of 47 different coins are being issued by Russia relating to the Sochi games. Some of these are for general circulation, and others as special precious metal collectibles. So this list may not be exhaustive at this point...but here is a start…
Firstly of note (pardon the pun) is a stunning new 100 Rouble banknote. These are regular circulation notes, but unless you are in Russia, eBay may be your best bet for finding one.
Next worth mentioning are the silver coins. My understanding (I have not seen them all yet) is that 16 different silver coins are being issued. All have similar specifications; 3 Rouble face value, 92.5% pure, weight of a troy ounce 31.1g. On one side are various winter sports with a flower of the Sochi area below. It seems not all the coins were released at one time, and as of this writing I have only seen 8 of them. Canadians are fortunate, as the Royal Canadian Mint is a distributor, and coins can been seen and ordered from www.mint.ca
There are also some strange looking rectangular coins, also 3 Roubles, .925 silver, and 31.1g with the images of cats, and bears on them. I am not sure if this is included in the 16 silver coins mentioned.
Lastly a quick look at gold coins. There is a series of 99.9% gold coins available. Each coin is 1/4oz in weight, and has a face value of 50 Roubles. Also being distributed by the RCM...but at $779.99 not for everyone. Nice designs. The hockey coin is particularly attractive.
Not to be outdone the Russians have produced an enormous 3 Kilogram pure gold coin with a face value of 25,000 Roubles. I do not know the mintage, but a news report online describes a transaction taking place valuing the coin at $232,000.
If you have questions about older Russian coins please do not hesitate to call or contact us through our website.