St. Petersburg Mint

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ST. PETERSBURG MINT, a state enterprise located at 6 Peter and Paul Fortress, was part of the Goznak Company Group of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The only coin producer in the country, it was founded in 1724, situated originally within the casemates of Trubetskoy Bastion, and since the mid-18th century on the premises of Naryshkin Bastion as well. At first silver coins were made at the Mint (roubles and half roubles), though in the 1750s production of gold coins became more important. In 1799-1805 a special building was constructed for the Mint on the territory of the fortress by architect A. Porto. In the early 19th century the Mint was equipped with a steam engine. Platinum coins were minted there between 1828 and 45, memorial coins from 1830, and from 1876 all Russian coins (gold, silver, and copper), as well as memorial, jubilee and gratuity medals, hallmarks, and standards for measuring length and weight. Silver roubles and half-roubles, and then smaller coins, started being minted in the early 1920s. Reconstruction took place in 1921-31 -- steam engines were replaced with electric motors, and up-to-date equipment was installed. The transition from the production of aluminium bronze coins to copper-nickel alloys took place in 1926-31. The production of memorial and jubilee medals and plates was revived and the minting of awards, badges, and labour insignias was organised in 1935. From the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 until 1945, the equipment and the major part of workers were evacuated to Krasnoyarsk, a city in the Permskaya Region. Mint production stopped until 1943, when war medal production was restarted. Coins were reintroduced in 1944. After reestablishment of the Mint in 1946, the volume of production continually rose. In the 1990s it underwent a full technical overhaul. The Mint has repeatedly undertaken orders for the production of new coins and issued over 200 kinds of memorial coins and precious metals. It continues to produce medals and awards, including foreign orders.

Reference: Смирнов М. И. Со знаком "С. П. Б."...: Очерки истории С.-Петерб. Монетного двора, 1724-1994. Тольятти, 1994.

V. S. Solomko. Porto Antonio
Смирнов М. И. Со знаком "С. П. Б."...: Очерки истории С.-Петерб. Монетного двора, 1724-1994. Тольятти, 1994 St. Peter and Paul fortress
St. Peter and Paul fortress
1799
1806