50 kopecks — USSR (1958)

The coins of 1958

Catalogs list the 1958 coins as trial strikes, but they were not struck as experimental pieces — they were made in huge quantities, from 4 million for the 3 rubles to 175 million for the 20 kopecks. The batch was produced by the Leningrad Mint from March 1958 until early 1959. The coins were never officially released into circulation: in the early 1960s they were written off and melted down, which is why they are rare today, although a small part of the small denominations did reach circulation. The 1 kopeck is known in three die varieties (one with seven awns reaching the lower-left ray of the star, another with six awns and a different coordinate grid), and the 10 kopecks in a variety without the rightmost ray of the sun.