St. Petersburg Goznak Mint

St. Petersburg Mint is the oldest in Russia and one of the world’s largest enterprises for minting various coins, including precious metal and jubilee coins. In addition, here they make orders, medals, insignia and other products, and not only from non-ferrous metals, but also their alloys.

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General Information

Many of us, pulling metal money out of our pockets and purses, don’t even think about where it comes from. And they are born right here, in the world-famous mint of Russia, located in St. Petersburg, on the territory of the no less famous Peter and Paul Fortress, which belongs to the monuments of architecture. The central two-story part, standing on an elevation, is crowned by a triangular pediment. There are also side wings, also two-storied – they are completed by round towers with unusual flat-shaped domes.

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If these walls could talk, they would tell a lot about the formation and development of coinage in our country, which is not at all limited to the production of the coin itself and includes a wide range of areas, starting with the provision of raw materials for minting and ending with the peculiarities of trade and economic relations. Hence the interest of tourists to excursions to the St. Petersburg Mint, because here you can learn about the rich history of coinage in Russia.

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History of the Mint

The history of the Mint in St. Petersburg dates back to the distant year 1724, with the decree of Peter the Great. The Emperor of All Russia by his highest command, dated December 12, ordered: “Gold coinage to be made in a fortress.”

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Initially, the enterprise was located in the courtina between the Trubetskiy and Naryshkin bastions of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In 1800 another emperor, Paul I, approved the project of a separate building for the mint. It was erected in five years by an experienced architect-builder of Italian origin, Antonio della Porto.

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Since the founding of the enterprise, the abbreviation “s. p. b.” appeared on the rubleviki. On it St. Petersburg coinage identified until 1914, when the capital was renamed Petrograd. Thus, the old designation of the place of minting became impossible.

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The Mint was an enterprise, as they would say nowadays, of wide specialization. In addition to national gold, platinum, silver and copper coins of all denominations, other metallic money was minted here in different periods. For example, in 1833-1841 these were coins, the denomination of which was denoted in two languages – Russian and Polish. This is not surprising, given that the Kingdom of Poland was part of the Russian Empire. Foreign coins were also issued: from 1768 to 1869. – Dutch ducats, from 1808 to 1809. – Turkish piastres. Trial series of coins were also minted here. They were intended as samples for a number of provincial mints, for example, Tavrichesky in Feodosia, Suzunsky at the Nizhne-Suzunsky copper smelting plant in Suzun, Tiflissky in Tiflis (now – Tbilisi). Another trial batch of coins, made of nickel, saw the light in 1911.

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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pre-revolutionary Russia was entering the period of its highest prosperity. Daily money circulation needed more and more metal money of all denominations. The most productive for the enterprise were the times of reforms of Sergey Yulievich Witte, who held the posts of Minister of Finance (1892-1903) and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (1903-1906) and then of the Council of Ministers (1905-1906). He achieved the introduction of the “gold standard” in 1897, a monetary system in which a standardized amount of gold was used as the basic unit of payment. From 1875 to 1911 inclusive, the St. Petersburg Mint minted gold coins totaling about 1.9 billion rubles. Approximately 1.3 billion (over 71%) came from 1897 to 1905. After that, there was a sharp decline in gold production, and in daily circulation remained coins worth 5 rubles, known as semi-imperials, and 10 rubles – imperials, that is, only coins of regular minting. In 1911, the minting of gold coins and stopped altogether, resuming only under Soviet rule.

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However, the specialization of the St. Petersburg Mint was not limited to coins alone: another area of activity was medallic work. Within its walls worked outstanding Russian medalists V. Krayukhin, S. Yudin, AP Lyalin, T. Ivanov, AA Klepikov and others. The largest number of medals – 671,113 copies for a total of 855,285 rubles – was issued in 1906. The average annual figures were as follows: about 7,000 gold medals, 75,000 silver medals, 94,000 bronze medals and 83,000 copper medals. A distinctive feature of the gold and silver medals of the 1900s was a special matte finish, which was achieved through sand treatment. Bronze medals were traditionally dark in color, but from 1908 they were given a lighter shade.

The mint also played a significant role in the development of domestic technology. The activities of such scientists and inventors as I. A. Nevedomsky, A. K. Nartov, B. S. Jacobi, I. A. Schlatter, and P. G. Sobolevsky were most directly connected with the Mint. A great influence on the development of Russian science in the field of chemistry and metallurgy of precious metals was exerted by the Laboratory for the Separation of Noble Metals, founded here, which specialized, in turn, on gold, platinum, silver and palladium.

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The St. Petersburg Mint for the entire long period of its existence only once, in early 1918, completely stopped work – because of preparations for the first monetary reform in Russia. Its activity was resumed only in 1921, and from that moment it began to mint Soviet coins. In 1924, the company was renamed the Leningrad Mint.

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During the Great Patriotic War, most of the equipment was evacuated to Krasnokamsk, in the Perm region, and placed in the premises of the local paper factory “Goznak”. This was the second evacuation in the history of the Mint. The first took place in 1917, when the front line of World War I was approaching Petrograd and the authorities decided to relocate the enterprise to Ekaterinburg. Together with the equipment they took out the invaluable archive of the XVIII-XIX centuries (lost, however, during a fire in Rybinsk), numismatic collection and stamping tools.

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When in September 1941 began the siege of Leningrad, many workers and employees of the mint joined the militia. Accordingly, not many skilled workers were seconded to the temporary Krasnokamsk Mint, only about 40 people. Already in October 1941 they put it into operation: here began the production of orders and medals of the USSR, in particular, “For the Defense of Leningrad.”

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The blockade ring was interrupted in January 1943, and in the spring the Leningrad Mint returned to its native walls and has not left them since. After the war, the main activity remained the production of coins. Only from 1950 to 1960, 15 billion mugs of coins of various denominations were produced here. During the same period, the mint fulfilled orders for the production of coins, orders and award medals for the socialist camp countries – Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, Albania, China.

The 70-80s of the last century was the heyday of Soviet commemorative and anniversary coins, and not only in quantity, but also in quality. Very large and at the same time complicated was the order to mint coins for the XXII Summer Olympic Games in 1980, held in Moscow. It became for the team a kind of a test of professionalism, experience and maturity, as many works were performed for the first time, literally on the fly developed and implemented advanced technologies, mastered the production of new types of products. Since that time the minting of coins of the highest quality from precious metals began on a regular basis. This level of quality has its own name – pruf, it is not available to all mints of the world. Another achievement was the release of 47 types of commemorative and jubilee coins to the numismatic market in 1988-1991. All of them were made according to the world standards of collectible quality.

The beginning of the “dashing” 90’s became for the then still Leningrad Mint a time of serious challenges, but its staff has overcome all the difficulties and trials with honor. Continuing to develop, the enterprise took an active part in the preparation and implementation of the monetary reform of 1998, known as denomination, in the new Russia. The plant, having established the necessary equipment and stamping tooling, worked in three shifts, fulfilling in a short time the order for the minting of new coins for exchange.

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Mint: Today’s Day

If we look at the entire almost 300-year history of the St. Petersburg Mint, we can say with all certainty: it is to it belongs the central place in the development of coinage in Russia.

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The unique experience and traditions accumulated during this time are carefully preserved and find their practical application in the manufacture of a wide range of products: coins, coin-shaped and medal products. Moreover, the geometric configuration can be any. As well as metals: they can be both colored and precious. And on each product, produced in full compliance with international standards of cold stamping techniques, is branded in the form of a recognizable abbreviation: SPMD.

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Currently, the legal status of the St. Petersburg Mint is a branch of the joint-stock company “Goznak”. In 2004, a new stage in the development of the “coin” plant: its specialists mastered jewelry production. Thus, the enterprise became the owner of casting technology, which in combination with traditional minting allows to create truly exclusive products: technologically complex and perfect from the artistic and aesthetic point of view.

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The high quality of the products of the Northern Palmyra Mint is a recognized fact not only within Russia, but also throughout the world. It is confirmed by numerous prizes awarded at prestigious international competitions and festivals to commemorative coins with the SPMD logo.

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Tourists to Note

The two-storey building of the Mint, located at 6 Petropavlovskaya Fortress, St. Petersburg, is recognized as one of the best buildings of domestic industrial architecture, executed in the style of late classicism. The Mint is included in the list of the Unified State Register of the objects of cultural heritage (historical and cultural monuments) of the Russian Federation. During the tour, visitors will be able to get in touch with both modern and ancient process of minting metal money.

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Since the Mint is still an operating enterprise, a production museum – the Museum of Money – was opened in 2003 especially for familiarization purposes. It is located at the address: Peter and Paul Fortress, b. 3, liter “Sh”. Its exposition is based on the invaluable collection of rare exhibits from the special fund of Goznak JSC and the Mint’s Münzkabinet. Another exposition, “History of Money” (it was opened in July 2016 after a large-scale reconstruction of the museum), tells about the circulation of money on the territory of Russia, from ancient times to the modern system of contactless payment. Special attention of tourists is attracted by gold and silver commemorative coins weighing 5 kg each, minted in the mint of the Northern Capital and recognized as the heaviest in the country. Not to mention the tower built from a million 1 ruble coins – it is a real delight!

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Excursions in SPMD are interesting, first of all, to tourists interested in architectural monuments of the first half of the XIX century. A visit to the mint is often included by tour operators in excursion programs to get acquainted with the nearby attractions of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which are part of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg. These are the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Engineering House, the brig, the Botniy House, the prison of the Trubetskiy Bastion, and the Commandant’s House. In addition, in the neighborhood there are such places for visits, recreation and walks as Alexander Park, Petrovskaya and Kronverk embankments, the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Forces, the Leningrad Zoo.

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How to get there

The building of the St. Petersburg Mint is located on Cathedral Square in front of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

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The nearest metro station to it is Gorkovskaya. You can also get there by ground transportation, you need to get off at the following stops: “Vvedenskaya Street”, “Prospect Dobrolyubova”, “Metro Station Gorkovskaya”, “Troitskaya Square”, “Sytny Market”.

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