Fake Russian Wire Money

Enlargement

Additional Specimen Additional Specimen #2

The image above is a typical example from a group of fake Russian wire money that came our way in June of 2002. There were 11 specimens in all, all of which were struck from the same set of dies, but all were very different in their strike and orientation. Because no one specimen will show all of the die, we have made the composite below of the obverse and reverse dies, as best it could be constructed from the 11 specimens. Unfortunately none of the 11 specimens had the horse's head on it.

The reverse inscription is somewhat corrupted version of a Tsar Boris Feodorovich Godunov (AD 1598-1605) inscription, with the differences highlighted below :

Thanks to Mr. Vladimir Belyaev for this information on the inscription variation.

Average WEIGHT:
0.33 grams

Average SIZE:
12.3 X 7.8 mm

STYLE:
medium

MANUFACTURE:
These are clearly die struck

FIRST IMPRESSION:
Fair

CHARACTERISTICS: A closer examination shows the following features:

1)	The inscription is rather corrupted, and appears to have been engraved by someone unfamilar with what he was trying to engrave.

2)	These were all struck on blanks prepared to shape ahead of time, unlike genuine wire money that was struck on lengths of wire and then broken apart.

3)	I do not have many specimens on hand to compare to, but my impression of the Czar's helmet is that it is unlike any I have seen on these in the past. This is something I will need to check on.

4)	The coins have a very even fabric and are much flatter than wire money normally is, suggesting they were struck in a mechanical press, rather than hand struck as the originals would have been.

RELATIVE DANGER

DEALER
low (I spotted them as soon as looked at the group)

COLLECTOR
EXPERIENCED
low
NOVICE
moderate to high

These are clearly of modern manufacture, and because of the way they came to me I suspect they were struck in Poland.