Coin, 20 kopeks, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1983

Coin

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Coin, 20 kopeks, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1983

Entry/Object ID

2025.20.33

Description

Circular coin in a pale grey-white alloy, struck on both faces with a raised rim. Obverse (arms side): the state emblem of the USSR — a globe bearing hammer and sickle, backed by radiating sun-rays, framed by two curved sheaves of wheat bound with ribbon, surmounted by a five-pointed star. Below the emblem, СССР in rounded serif capitals. No mint mark. Reverse (denomination side): the numeral 20 large across the upper field, КОПЕЕК beneath it in smaller capitals, and 1983 at the bottom in an elongated face, the base of the digits following the curve of the rim. Flanking the inscription, two ears of wheat rising from oak leaves at the lower left and right, forming an open wreath.

Context

A standard circulating Soviet coin of the series introduced by the 1961 monetary reform, which ran without design change until 1991. Plausible routes for a coin: a Cuban student or worker returning from the USSR, a Soviet technician or adviser in Cuba, a gift.

Acquisition

Accession

2025.20

Acquisition Method

Gift

Mintage

Mint

Saint Petersburg Mint

Date made

1983

Time Period

1980s

Place of Origin

City

Leningrad

Country

U.S.S.R.

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

⚠️ INFERRED, not confirmed on the object. Russian catalogs assign the 1961–1991 20-kopek series to the Leningrad Mint. The coin carries no mint mark, and none is expected: mint marks (М for Moscow, Л for Leningrad, placed above the Р of СССР) were only introduced in 1991. The absence of a mark on this coin is itself consistent with a pre-1991 date and corroborates the struck year.

Coin Details

Obverse

Description

СССР — SSSR, initials of Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Reverse

Transcription

20 — twenty КОПЕЕК — kopeek, genitive plural of копейка, kopek; reads "20 kopeks" 1983 — year of striking

Issuing Authority

State Bank of the USSR

Currency

Russian Ruble

Composition

Material

Metal

Material Notes

⚠️ INFERRED from catalog specifications for the series, not tested. Нейзильбер (nickel silver) — a copper-nickel-zinc alloy; one Russian catalog gives 58% copper, 30% zinc, 12% nickel. The alloy is grey, sometimes takes a greenish patina, and is non-ferromagnetic — a magnet is a five-second confirmation you can run now.

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

August 29, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

August 30, 2026