The Gold Chervonets
Numismatists have got European football
This year the Bank of Russia issued some coins, devoted to big sport
In March, 2004 the Bank of Russia issued into circulation coins, devoted to European football championship, which was held from June,12 till July,4 in Portugal.
A silver coin of 31,1 grams weight of 3-ruble par has been minted of 10 thousand copies printing, 50-ruble coin of 7,78 grams weight-ten times less.
The coins were minted at Saint-Petersburg Mint. The drafts were created there too. To the painters" words, about a hundred copied were made. As the result, the necessary foreshortening was found, demonstrating the expression of sport. Football men on both coins are shown in movement. The painter Anton Tshablikin, the author of the drafts, had to look through many photos, having recorded battles on football fields. Finally he found what, in his opinion, reflected not only the spirit of sport but of time. After all if earlier static figures were represented on coins most of all, now a painter-medal maker should reflect movement of a sportsman, his inner condition.
It"s possible to follow the changes of our life due to the coins, devoted to sport. It"s enough to remember the coins, produced to Moscow Olympic games (1980). These were first Soviet memorable coins, made from precious metals: 14 coins from silver of 5-ruble par, 14 coins from silver of 10-ruble par, 6 coins from gold of 100-ruble par and 5 coins from platinum of 150-ruble par everyone. Besides, memorable coins from cooper-nickel alloy of 1-ruble par were brought into circulation.
The coins were being minted for 3 years from 1977 till 1980. They were produced in huge due to present measure printing: silver coins of 250 thousand units, gold ones of 50 thousand units in average, and printing some coins from copper-nickel alloy reached 9 million units! That period for the first time in the Soviet Union while making coins the quality "proof" was used. The coins were minted both at Leningrad and at Moscow Mints (but platinum coins were minted just in Leningrad).
The author of the drafts of the whole Olympic series was the main painter of Moscow printing factory of Goznak V.A.Ermakov. The sculptural modeling was carried out in Leningrad.
Among Olympic coins there were ones with very interesting subject. On some of them the kinds of sport are represented, which are not Olympic, for example, races on deer teams, pulling a rope or a dance of Eagle and Huresh.
For Olympic games-80 there was a series with representations of the cities, where the competitions were held in some kinds of sport issued. These are Tallinn, Minsk, Kiev, Leningrad.
Today it is a good tradition to issue memorable coins, devoted to different sport events. Now Saint-Petersburg and Moscow Mints produce several kinds of coins for sport subject a year. There was a series "Olympic century of Russia". In 1993 four coins of the series were issued: from gold, silver, platinum and palladium. They are devoted to participation of Russian sportsmen in the international Olympic games. By the way, the author of the drafts of the back side of all these coins and also the sculptor was the main painter of Leningrad Mint Alexander Baklanov.
At Saint-Petersburg Mint silver coins from the series "The 100th anniversary of Russian football" were minted as well. On one of the coin there was a representation of football men during their first match in Saint-Petersburg on the 24th of October 1897. On the background there is a contour of Petropavlovsk fortress.
Just for last years many memorable coins in honour of Olympic games, World Youth games, championships of football, hockey and other sports have been produced. Specialists think the coins, minted for the football championship of 2002 as the most interesting from artistic point of view. The authors of the drafts are Alexander Baklanov and Anton Tshablikin.
They chose an unusual foreshortening. On the gold coin of 50-ruble par on the foreground there is a ball in flight, on the background there is a football man, having struck this ball. At that, the sportsman himself is much smaller than his own boot. On the silver coin of 3-ruble par there is stylized world, in the center of which there is a stylized ball, but along the circle there are notes and seven football players in different moments of the match.
And at last, the silver coin of 100 mm in diameter and one kilo of weight looks like a ball itself, in the center of which there are contours of Korean republic and Japan on the sphere of the globe. There are six football players with balls and also the names of the countries, having become world football champions around. Native and foreign specialists-numismatists remarked not only the original design but the unusual form of the coin also, e.g. slightly concave surface.
Tatyana Balueva
