silver coins stopped being made in uk in 1947.
silver coins stopped being made in uk in 1947.
when did silver coins stop being made in uk?
1947
a shortage of silver coins had perpetually dogged the soviet economy in the 1920s and silver was becoming too expensive to use, with much of it needing to be imported. by 1930 the silver coin shortage had become acute and soviet authorities scapegoated "hoarders" and "exchange speculators" as responsible for the shortages, and confiscatory measures were taken. in 1931, the remaining silver coins were replaced with redesigned cupro-nickel coins depicting a male worker holding up a shield which contained the denominations of each. all silver coins were returned and melted down. in 1935, the reverse of the 10-, 15-, and 20-kopecks coins were redesigned again with a more simple art deco inspired design, with the obverse of all denominations also redesigned, having the "workers of the world, unite!" slogan dropped. the change of the obverse designs did not affect all 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-kopecks coins immediately, as some 1935 issues bore the "workers of the world" design while some bore the new "cccp" design. the state emblem also went through a series of changes between 1935 and 1957 as new soviet republics were added or created, this can be noted by the number of "ribbons" wrapped around the wheat sheaves. this coin series remained in circulation during and after the monetary reform of 1947 and was finally discontinued in 1961.
soviet ruble
before the civil war (1861 to 1865), silver coins were legal tender only up to the sum of $5. before 1853, when u.s. silver coins were reduced in weight 7%, coins had exactly their value in metal (from 1830 to 1852). two silver 50 cent coins had exactly $1 worth of silver. a gold u.s. dollar of 1849 had $1 worth of gold. with the flood of gold coming out of the california mines in the early 1850s, the price of silver rose (gold went down). thus, 50 cent coins of 1840 to 1852 were worth 53 cents if melted down. the government could increase the value of the gold coins (expensive) or reduce the size of all u.s. silver coins. with the reduction of 1853, a 50-cent coin now had only 48 cents of silver. this is the reason for the $5 limit of silver coins as legal tender; paying somebody $100 in the new silver coins would be giving them $96 worth of silver. most people preferred bank check or gold coins for large purchases.
legal tender