Each banknote, be it a coin or a banknote, has its own "face", or rather, the front and back sides. However, it is sometimes very difficult for an ignorant person to understand where the front side of the bill is and where its back is. Of course, in order to pay for a product or service, such knowledge is not needed, but for some people this issue has an important, sometimes even mystical meaning.
Where is the obverse
Obverse - this is the name of the front side of a bill or coin, and this name comes from French word avers or the Latin adversus, which means "faced".
In general practice and special literature, no consensus regarding how exactly to recognize the "face" of a banknote. Each state has the right to independently establish rules in this matter. However, there are some general guidelines for determining the obverse. So, on the front side, as a rule, are depicted:
- portrait of the ruler, president (current or former), head of state;
- coat of arms of the state or emblem of the country; sometimes it happens that the coats of arms are placed on both sides, then the obverse is the one on which the main symbol of the power is present, higher in rank or larger in size;
- legend showing the name of the state, territory;
- the name of the issuing bank.
And if not a face
Sometimes, however, it happens that the front side of a banknote does not have any of the above features. How to be? In cases where the image placed on a banknote is neither a portrait nor a memorable place, the obverse is considered to be the side opposite to the one on which the denomination of the banknote is placed, or the one where the serial number is indicated.
In the most difficult cases, you should refer to the national catalog of the country that issued the banknote. However, this rule applies rather to coins, because they have a much smaller area, on which it can be difficult to place all the insignia.
Why has the “face” of the ruble changed?
Signs also have obverse features that fall under general rules. However, in different time these distinctive features were not the same: almost always portraits of tsars were placed on the front side of Russian banknotes, and in Soviet times they were replaced by a portrait of the leader of the proletariat V.I. Lenin, present on banknotes of any denomination. However, after the 1991 coup, the government, and with it the political course of the state, changed dramatically, and very soon a new currency was needed, on which the portrait of Vladimir Ilyich was quickly replaced with the image of the Kremlin, the symbol of state power, the main fortress of the country. From that time until now, the front side of the banknote of the Russian banknote has ceased to show portraits, so as not to depend on the political course of the state. Images of cities and cultural monuments are not ideologically motivated and will be relevant at any time.
Russian hundred
The front side of the banknote of 100 rubles of the 1993 sample was decorated with the image of the Senate Tower of the Moscow Kremlin and the Russian tricolor placed on the dome of the Senate. Actually, banknotes of any denomination had such an image at that time on the obverse, but already in 1995 everything changed: new banknotes were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 thousand rubles. But the new "hundred" appeared a little later - January 1, 1998.
The front side of the bill, the photo of which is placed below, has an image of a quadriga, a Roman two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses. This bronze chariot of Apollo adorns the portico of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre.
Initially, the banknote of 100,000 rubles had the same image, but after the denomination of 1997, the horses “lost” exactly a thousand times and took their place of honor on the banknote of 100 rubles. In this form, a hundred exists to this day, however, on October 30, 2013, a new "Olympic" commemorative banknote with a face value of 100 rubles was issued. It is symbolic that its release started exactly one hundred days before the opening of the Olympic Games. The front side has an image of a snowboarder performing at the Olympics, and on the back, a stylized firebird is visible, hovering over the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The total circulation of the "Olympic Hundred" amounted to 20 million copies, and some of them were released in a gift box.
Thousandth note
The obverse of the thousandth banknote of 1993 also had the image of the state flag on it, and already in the 95th the banknote was reissued again. The front side of the coin, put into circulation on September 29, 1995, commemorates the sights of Vladivostok - the top of the rostral column in the form of the Manjur sailboat, which was installed at the entrance to the city in 1982. The second drawing on the obverse is the image of the seaport of Vladivostok, located in the famous Golden Horn Bay, which itself has a rich history. However, even in this form, the “thousand” did not last too long - a denomination broke out, and again it took January 1, 2001 to see the light of a new banknote with a face value of 1000 Russian rubles, its obverse was decorated with a monument to Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, erected in honor of the founder of the city by the inhabitants of Yaroslavl.
The second image on the front side of the banknote is the background for which it serves. In this form, the "thousandth" exists today. Although it has been reissued twice, appearance it did not change, only the degree of protection was added.
Signs of authenticity
Each state issuing its own banknotes, simply must take care to protect their authenticity. Of course, it is no secret that counterfeiting banknotes and coins is a criminally punishable act, but, unfortunately, such knowledge is not able to stop counterfeiters who are thirsty for profit. Most often, the signs of authenticity are evenly distributed over the entire surface of the bill, but in some cases, most of them are given to the obverse.
For example, the signs of authenticity, most often visible from the front side, are:
- moire pattern - a special area that changes its color and has visible rainbow stripes;
- kipp effect - a hidden image that can be seen only when looking at a bill at an acute angle;
- infrared marks - part of the image is covered with a special compound that tends to glow in infrared radiation;
- embossed inscriptions - made specifically for visually impaired people;
- microperforation - the denomination of the banknote, stuffed with small holes, for people with impaired vision;
- located in a certain place;
- drawing an image using color-changing paint.
Of course, there are other signs - watermarks, security fibers, magnetic marks, microtext, micro-pattern, protective metallized thread, and so on, but they are most often present on the back or in the thickness of the banknote itself.
What kind of money the bank will not accept
Oddly enough, but in some cases a bill will not be accepted even if it is real. Banks withdraw from circulation (without reimbursement of cost) the following banknotes:
- dilapidated, badly worn;
- withdrawn from circulation (at the end of the voluntary exchange period);
- parts of banknotes, the area of which is less than 55% of their original size;
- banknotes damaged by water, fire, chemicals if, together with the destroyed areas, less than 55% of the original area remains;
- they also do not accept banknotes if the reverse or front side of the bill does not have one of the two denominations, numbers, or if they are badly damaged: lack of a security thread, severe damage or replacement of the portrait, change in the denomination of the banknote in the corners;
- the same applies to torn, cut into several parts, glued banknotes, if one of the whole parts belongs to less than 55% of the area.
Money omens
Well, now you know where the front side of the bill is, so it's time to talk about the most popular and, they say, effective sign associated with the obverse. If you want to have money always and in large quantities, you should treat it with respect. There is an opinion that the money in the wallet should be placed strictly obverse to its owner, and in a certain order - from largest to smallest, so that when you open the wallet, the largest bills look directly into your face. And in no case should money lie “upside down” - they can “take offense” and leave. Someone believes in signs, someone does not, but it’s not difficult to turn your money to face you, so what prevents you from trying - what if it works?
The coin catalog has been created to give you the most full information about coins from around the world: colorful images, characteristics, descriptions, information about types, circulations, years of issue and approximate market prices for coins different types. We are confident that the coin catalog will be a handy and useful tool for any collector.
General information about the catalog
The catalog contains information about coins from different worlds, different historical periods. You can always see the total number of coins in the catalog on a special page with statistics. Please note that this number is constantly increasing - our editors are working every day to develop and replenish the catalog.
The main page of the catalog consists of several parts:
- Images and short descriptions coins.
- Group navigation.
- Page navigation and coin display control.
- Link to open advanced search.
Using the advanced search system, you can search for coins based on various parameters:
- denomination, metal and year of minting;
- Krause catalog number;
- text description of the coin in Russian or English.
Please note that the search in the text description of the coin takes into account the morphology and word formation of Russian and English, so you can just write the keywords you are interested in - the catalog itself will give you not only coins with a full match of the keywords, but also coins in which the keywords are used in different forms. For example, the query "Sydney" will return not only coins with the description "Sydney, colored enamel", but also coins "Sydney Olympic Games".
If you selected some filters in the advanced search and clicked the "Apply" button, then the values you selected will be saved and you can safely navigate through different groups and pages - the filters will be enabled. In order to disable the effect of the selected filters, you must click on the "Reset" button.
Detailed information about coins
By clicking on the “View detailed information” icon, you will be taken to a page with a detailed description of the coin.
The main elements of the page:
- Technical information about the coin (country, denomination, metal, weight, diameter, fineness, Krause number).
- Form for leaving an application for this coin.
- Description of issues of this type of coins (years of minting, mintage, quality of minting, additional notes, as well as an approximate price, according to our data).
- Form for buying such a coin (shown if these coins are in the store).
- A field for your comment on this coin or for replying to other users' comments.
Information about coin issues
Information about the issues of the coin is given in the table under the main description of the coin. In addition to such technical things as circulation and minting quality, from this table you can find out the approximate market prices for coins of these issues.
We do not like theoretical discussions about the numismatics market. All prices that you see in the catalog of coins are the real prices at which the coins were mined and bought. In the table you see the average coin prices for the last period. By clicking on the chart icon, you can see the dynamics of coin prices over time in order to assess the changes taking place in the market.
Applications through the directory
In addition to providing information, you can use the coin catalog to tell us about coins that you are interested in. For this purpose, we have developed an application mechanism.
If you are authorized on the site, next to each coin in the catalog you will find the link “I want such a coin!”. After clicking on it, a form opens in which you can optionally indicate comments on your application and confirm the application.
The administration of the store prepares new exhibits in the store, first of all, according to your requests. Let us know about the coins you want to find and we will do our best to get them for you.
If coins appear in the store that match your requests, you will find out about this from the letter that will be sent to your mail, and from the message at the top of each page of the site.
Near each offer, the time during which this offer is assigned to you and other users who have left the same application is indicated. Until the specified time, no one else sees and cannot buy this coin. When this time comes, the offer becomes available for ordering also to other users.
If the coin suits you, you can buy it. In this case, your application is automatically considered completed and removed from the site. If it does not suit you, you must refuse it by clicking on the appropriate button. At the same time, we will ask you to indicate the reason why the coin does not suit you. This is necessary so that we know what exactly you did not like in the coin and would find a coin for you that is more suitable for your application.
FAQ
They wrote to me that the coin was set aside for me until a certain time, but someone had already bought it. How so?
We do not reserve coins for certain users. We give priority to buying pending coins everyone users, leaving applications on them. Thus, there was an application for a pending coin from another user and he bought it faster than you.
What happens if I refuse your offer on my application? How many times can you refuse coins?
You can refuse coins on request until we provide you with the coin you want to buy. There are no sanctions because of your refusal and there will not be. If you are not satisfied with the quality or price of the coin, feel free to refuse it and we will continue to search for the most suitable coin for you.
If you indicate "I already have" as the reason for rejection, we will automatically delete your application. This reason is created for those cases when you bought a coin somewhere else and forgot to cancel your application on the application management page.
I made an application and I immediately got offers for it. But these are the same coins that I saw in the store and did not buy, because they did not suit me. Why are you showing them to me?
In order to more accurately fulfill your application, we need to know what does not suit you in the coins presented in the store. Simply opt-out on the offer page and indicate the reason for the rejection. If we showed you a coin in offers, and you refused it, it will never be included in offers a second time.
All monetary units have two sides - it does not matter if it is a paper banknote or simple coin. It is quite difficult for a simple layman to recognize where the front side of the bill is. And although it is not necessary to know this to buy goods in stores and other places, for many people this issue is of serious importance.
banknote face
The obverse is the face of all bills and coins. Its name comes from the French "avers" or from the Latin "adversus", which translates as "facing face". To date, there is no consensus in the world how to recognize it. Each state has its own design of the front side of the bill, but, basically, they are guided by historical values or country symbols.
And although, we repeat, in world practice there is no single point of view about what the front side of a bill should be, there are still some general rules for determining it. Most often on the obverse is depicted:
- a portrait of a state leader, both current and former;
- the coat of arms of the state, while it can be depicted on both sides of the bill - in this case, the obverse is determined by the rank of the depicted symbol or size;
- historical or legendary images that display the name of a country or its geographical territory;
- the name of the bank that issues these banknotes.
Alternative images on the obverse
In rare cases, it also happens that none of the above items is used on banknotes. If you come across this type of banknote, then its face can be identified by the serial number, which is usually shown on the obverse.
When it is very difficult to determine the front part, you can look for explanations in the catalog of the issuing country. But this recommendation is more suitable for coins, because due to small size it is impossible to place all the decals on them.
New banknotes
Banknotes Russian production, like the currencies of other countries of the world, also have distinctive obverse features, but their front side has undergone many changes. Throughout the history of the country, right up to the emergence of the post-Soviet space, it depicted portraits of tsars, or, after the revolution, the great leader of the proletariat, V. I. Lenin.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was decided to fundamentally change the obverse of the currency. Since then, new banknotes have been issued with the image of the Kremlin on the front side. This was done in order to no longer be dependent on politicians and their decisions, but to leave only drawings of cities and historical monuments that are always relevant. 
Banknote with a face value of 1 thousand rubles
The front side of the banknote of 1000 rubles has undergone a number of changes in recent years. In 1993, it depicted the state flag hoisted on the Senate Tower, but after 2 years it was reissued again. The top of the rostral column in the form of the Manjur ship flaunts on the updated banknote. Thus, the creators immortalized the historically valuable landmark of Vladivostok.
The second image on the front side was dedicated to the port of this city, which is located in a bay called the Golden Horn. This type of banknote existed until 2001, after which the memorial of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, erected in Yaroslavl, was depicted on the obverse of the new banknote. And for the second image, the chapel of Our Lady of Kazan, known throughout the post-Soviet space, was chosen, painted against the backdrop of the Yaroslavl Kremlin.
And although the banknote has been reissued in order to improve protection twice since 2001, but to this day it has preserved just such a front side of the banknotes.
dollar bills
Basically, all the banknotes of Europe and Asia comply with the accepted rules, and it is quite easy to find the obverse on them. The same applies to the image printed on dollar bills. On their front side there is a seal of the Ministry of Finance and the issuing bank, as well as a portrait of one of the American presidents.
In addition, bills issued in the United States contain:
- on the obverse - the year of issue and two imprints of the serial number, as well as the bank code, displayed both in letters and numbers. In addition, special control letters are indicated in the corners;
- on the reverse side- image of state monuments and institutions. The most important symbol on this part of the banknote is the inscription "In God we trust", which means "we trust in God";
- special offset background images;
- digital cliché codes on both the back and front.
Authenticity of monetary units
It is the responsibility of each country that produces its own currency to protect its authenticity, as well as to determine severe punishment for counterfeiters.
Basically, on banknotes issued by official issuing banks, the decals are depicted over the entire surface on both sides, but in some cases the main number of them is located on the obverse. In addition, banknotes are reissued every few years to increase the level of security and remove worn-out banknotes from circulation.
The main visible security marks on banknotes:
- A special part of the banknote with a moire pattern. It has the ability to change color and contains pronounced iridescent stripes.
- Latent image or, in other words, the kipp effect. Such a pattern can only be seen by looking at the banknote at an acute angle.
- Marks that can be seen under infrared light.
- Embossed lettering, perfect for the visually impaired.
- Microperforation. It, like the previous authenticity mark, is intended for people with poor eyesight;
- The serial number of the banknote.
There is also protection on the back of the bill. There may be special watermarks, microscopic text, magnetic marks, and more.
Currency units not subject to replacement in the bank
It is worth noting that even if the banknote is authentic, it can be withdrawn without compensation for damage. Banks can do this based on laws and citing the following reasons:
- frayed beyond recognition and very dilapidated;
- banknotes that are out of circulation - after the expiration of the exchange time;
- banknotes that have been damaged by mechanical, chemical or thermal impact, if the whole area is less than 55% of full size banknotes;
- if the monetary unit has lost its number or denomination, and the security thread or portrait has been badly damaged;
- in addition, if the bill was glued together from several parts, it is important that one of them be at least 55%.
The front side of the banknote in each currency is unique, and all countries are trying to bring some moments of their history into its appearance. And, of course, one of the main tasks of any state that issues its banknotes is to protect them from counterfeiting. By the way, in some countries the penalties for counterfeiting monetary units are especially severe and even reach the death penalty.
Hello dear readers. Today I decided to talk about the Krause Catalog, more precisely and more correctly - about the Krause Catalogs, because. this is not the only edition and not even a series of editions of the same catalog, but a whole a series of numismatic and bonistic catalogs, united by a single name Krause catalogs.
These catalogs of coins and banknotes belong to highly professional publications, as a result of which the cost of them is quite high. But both the significance and the volume of publications are very large and extensive, thanks to which the Krause Catalogs are widely in demand today, and I will not hesitate to use the word - world famous! So, from poetry to practice.
When was the Krause Catalog published?
First you need to understand who Krause is. Back in 1952, a retired American soldier Chester Krause (Chester Krause) creates the Publishing House of the same name ( Krause Publications). It is quite difficult to describe the whole story in one article, and I did not want to achieve this goal, but it is worth noting that the above-mentioned publishing house has specialized in the direction of collecting and numismatics throughout its history, which was the passion of Chat Krause.
An important stage in the life of a publishing house is first edition of the Krause Coin Catalog 1972 ( ), co-edited by Chester Krause with Clifford Mishler. From that moment on, they become truly immensely famous not only in their own country (USA), but also abroad.
About "Old Man Krause" and the use of the term.
Have you come across this term before? Maybe. Great and mighty ... well, that's not what I wanted. I'll try to be simple and brief: collectors often use this term in intershops, some of them truly believe that there is a certain American old man, Mr. those. the book itself.
We will clarify: Mr. Krause is indeed one of the most famous numismatists in the world, and it is he who is the publisher of the first (and not only) Krause Catalogs on Numismatics (we have already written about this). But it so happened that since the beginning of the 2000s, the Publishing House has not been owned by Chester Krause. He simply sold it to new owners, and sold it along with the "name" of the publishing house. Of course, the new owner did not destroy the promoted brand and continued to release new catalogs under the same name. From a marketing point of view, it is 100% justified.
Thus, for many years, Mr. Krause's opinion on the Catalog of the same name does not apply and it is more correct to call the publication "The Standard Catalog of Coins of the World. Publisher: Krause." And the term (expression) is " Old man Krause"correlate specifically with the publication (catalog), and not with the person.
In what languages and in what countries is the catalog published?
I'll start with a "fly in the ointment" - the Krause catalog is not translated into Russian. As mentioned earlier, the Krause publishing house is located in the United States of America, and they publish their publications on their own. mother tongue- English.
But do not be so upset, world languages are world languages, and the language of numismatics, for an initiated person, is a little different and, to a certain extent, international. Work with the Coin Catalog and the Catalog paper money Krause, the matter is not so complicated, it is drawn up in a fairly understandable way, and in case of a stumbling upon a complex English term, we can all turn to an Internet translator, incl. there is usually no problem with understanding the information in the Krause Catalogs.
The most famous and popular Krause Catalogs.
As I already wrote, Krause Publications has always specialized in the field of collectors' interests. Among their publications there are Catalogs on Militaria, Small Arms and Edged Weapons, hunting and fishing areas.
But nevertheless, catalogs on numismatics and bonistics brought their world fame to the Publishing House. These include:
- Standard Catalog of World Coins (Standard Catalog of World Coins);
- Unusual world coins (Unusual coins of the world);
- North American Coins & Prices (Catalogue and price tag of US coins);
- Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (Standard catalog of banknotes of the world).
Krause coin catalogs.
As you understand, you, my dear readers, and me, of course, are most interested in the Krause Catalogs on numismatics and, to the greatest extent, Catalogs that include Russian coins. So to speak, a view from foreign collectors, how THEY see our coins.
I will give a few examples among the latest Krause Catalogs on numismatics:
- 2015 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 8th Edition;
- 2016 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 43th Edition;
- 2016 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 2001-Date, 10th Edition.
Practical application of Krause Catalogs.
Discussing in detail why Coin Catalogs are needed for professional numismatists is perhaps quite stupid, probably they themselves know how to use them and why. But for novice collectors, or those who have not previously encountered this publication, but no longer consider themselves to be beginners, I will explain the practical component of working with Krause Catalogs.
Like any directory The Krause catalog contains systematic information on the issue of coins by a certain country (issuer) in a certain period of time (circulation period). Thus, we get a professionally compiled table of all issues (years and main varieties) of all types and denominations of coins. Based on which we will build our own collection, in parallel checking with it about the presence or absence of certain coins.
In addition, Krause's Standard Catalog of World Coins is not only a Catalog, but also coin price tag. Thanks to this, we can use it as a tool for evaluating collections and individual coins.
And thirdly, Krause's Standard Catalog of Coins is a multi-faceted catalogue. It includes information about the coins of many countries of the world, and this can be useful both for a novice collector who is just choosing Which collection to start collecting, and for an already quite experienced numismatist who decided not to limit himself to collecting coins of only one country and wants to start new collections from foreign coins, but for which he needs introductory information.
Where to buy or download the Krause Catalog?
There is nothing complicated with this issue in our modern world. It is enough to contact any book or numismatic store in a major city. For those who find it difficult (due to remoteness or other difficulties), but I really want to buy the Krause Catalog - there is the Internet. Ordering books has now become so simple that even a child of school age or a person of retirement age who has poor computer skills can cope with this task.
Regarding Downloading the Krause Catalog: I have an ambivalent attitude to this issue, I will explain. Of course, any Internet user knows perfectly well that downloading a scanned-copied-stealed edition is quite simple. RucCoins.TK ADMINISTRATION STANDS FOR COPYRIGHT and of course, it does not recommend searching and downloading the Krause Catalog from the Internet, because the copyright holder does not post this publication for free (this is a fact), thereby performing this action you will take on administrative and criminal responsibility ... well, pangs of conscience;) On the other hand, acquiring a publication that costs thousands of rubles without looking is an act a confident decision based on the fact that this publication will be of the same quality and volume useful information which you expect from him. Therefore, well, at least with one eye, it’s worth a look, but after that, be sure to go and buy the official publication! In addition, the scanned versions of the Krause Catalog are likely to be of too low quality and practical use would be quite problematic.
... in conclusion.
Perhaps we have considered the issue of Krause Catalogs from all sides, and What is Krause catalog, and How to apply it and Why it is needed - should now be clear. I will add only one thing, yet this catalog is not focused on the collector of Russian coins, and it is far from the only catalog and price tag. Therefore, if you decide to take this catalog together with others - definitely YES, we recommend it. If you are faced with a choice: either Krause or some other catalog of coins of Russia and the USSR - approach the issue as scrupulously as possible.
That's all. We thank you for your attention.
