Russian coin price climb confirmed
By Michael Brady
The results of an April 25 auction amazed even auctioneer Gunnar
Thesen, a veteran of a quarter century of coin dealing in Oslo, Norway.
Some 500 Russian and Scandinavian coins put on the block fetched a
total of $650,000, which, as Thesen relates, "was more than we
expected. But the Russian coins (see World Coin News, May 1998, page
10) went for astonishing prices. Nearly all the 300 sold went for
considerably more than their pre-auction catalog valuations, some
double. A rare ruble of 1714 was sold for $8300, more than twice its
valuation of $4000. A Dassier gold 10 rubles struck in 1757 was pre-auction
valued at $10,000 and was sold for $20.000."
"The change in Russian coin prices has been brewing ever since
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991," he remarks,
"but its driving force and its speed of climb differ from most
predictions." He explains that "coin collecting was outlawed
in the Soviet Union. So there were neither known collectors nor a
legal coin trade. But there were many collectable coins, particularly
those of Imperial Russia. Consequently, as the Soviet Union collapsed,
it seemed likely that the market would soon be flooded with Russian
coins, which would depress prices. Though a few coins did come on
the market in this manner, the trend turned rapidly to import rather
than export. Starting in early 1993, newly rich Russians began collecting
coins and outbid others at European auctions, which pushed prices
up. The market now is a classic case of demand outstripping supply;
the trend is up."
Thesen also points to a boom in the oil-driven Norwegian economy
as another trigger of the trend. "Like Russians, Norwegians are
avid collectors of their own country's coinage. The highest price
attained at the auction was $45,000, for a Norwegian two speciedaler
of 1653, pre-auction valued at $20,000. All other Norwegian coins
also went for prices considerably more than their pre-auction catalog
valuations. But Norwegians are also drawn to Russian coins, particularly
as Norway has a border to Russia. That's why some Norwegians, principally
Bernhard Brekke, became leading experts on Russian coinage in the
years before the Soviet Union collapsed. So I guess that Russians
and Norwegians will now be among the top bidders at auctions of Imperial
Russian coins. That's the way it was here, at Oslo Mynthandel's April
25 auction."
