Coinage of Belarus

[<k>]

The 10, 20 and 50 kopek coins are all made of brass-plated steel.

The common obverse features the national emblem.

The reverse features the denomination and a national ornament symbolizing fertility and the life force.

[<k>]

The 1 ruble coin is made of copper-nickel plated steel.

The 2 ruble coin is bimetallic: a copper-nickel-plated steel center within a brass-plated steel ring.


The obverse features the national emblem.

The reverse features the denomination and a national ornament symbolizing freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

[<k>]

Apparently the 2 ruble coin was an afterthought and was not minted until 2016, at the Lithuanian Mint. It was minted with the year 2009, so that it fits with the other coins in the series.

After such a long wait, it is fortunately quite an attractive set. It is noticeable that it follows the layout of a euro set, in terms of metals used and also in terms of the bottom tier of coins (1, 2, 5 kopeks) and the middle tier of coins (10, 20, 50 kopeks) sharing the same designs, while the 1 and 2 rubles are slightly different. Even the denominational system used mirrors that of the euro.

The "national ornament symbolizing freedom and the pursuit of happiness" is ironic, given the current situation in the country. President Lukashenko is a dictator in the Soviet mode, and he even has a Stalinesque moustache.

 

[<k>]

Here you see how the coins look in relation to one another.

[brandm24]

Your threads that include a history of the subject country are always of great interest to me, <k>. Regretfully, my knowledge of many of them is limited and it shouldn't be. It's my responsibility to educate myself and your threads give me a strong push in that direction. You provide a wonderful platform of knowledge that I can build on.

Being introduced to their coinage is a big plus too. Many thanks for both.

Bruce

[<k>]

Glad you enjoy it, Bruce. The world and Europe have changed so much in my lifetime. There is much I have forgotten and much I don't know, so I do a little research and learn something every time I post a topic. Even as a child, I was also fascinated by flags, so I enjoy posting them too. Interesting how many times some countries change their flags. I even found this extra slight variation on the Belarusian flag, with extra vertical stripes in the hoist, but I don't know whether it was used.

[chrisild]

This is the flag that the government's website shows:
https://www.belarus.by/rel_image/892

You mentioned that some countries change their flags fairly frequently – well, here is a good reason why. Lukashenko obviously preferred and prefers this design (which goes back to the USSR days) while the white-red-white flag is often used by those who protest against his regime these days. Whenever you have a flag, or CoA or other symbol that represents an ideology rather than an entire country (or is perceived as such), that symbol is likely to be changed after, hmm, some change.

Christian

[FosseWay]

When I was in Minsk in 2007, our bus driver told us that the Soviet-style coat of arms (the one where the hammer and sickle has been replaced by the map) was popularly known as "the cabbage", both because of its looks and as a way of poking fun at the leadership. He also said that the "real" Belarusian flag is the the red and white one that the recent demonstrators have been using. But he was careful to impart this information only when the random woman who was on our bus but nothing to do with our group was safely out of earshot. We were convinced she was from the KGB; clearly the driver was convinced of that, too.

Back then there were no coins in use. The lowest denomination banknote was 10 rubles, which at the time was worth about half a eurocent. I did get a Minsk metro token though.

[Figleaf]

At the time, the surefire way of finding out if someone was KGB was to ask their help when (not if) you encountered a bureaucratic or hierarchical problem and listen to their tone of voice. For instance, if the hotel insisted they had no coffee and you could smell it, just tell the "guide". If she (or he) marches up to the buffet, uses a commanding tone and gets results in seconds, she is KGB. If she shrugs or begs the staff of the buffet she isn't.

Peter

[<k>]

See also:

01] Bessarabia, Moldavia, Moldova and Transnistria.

02] Coinage of Belarus.

03] Coinage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

04] Coinage of modern Serbia.

05] Coinage of North Macedonia.

06] Coinage of the Czech Republic.

07] Croatia: post-Yugoslav coinage.

08] Czechoslovak heroes on post-communist circulation coins.

09] Hungary: post-communist coinage.

10] Poland: Design series of 1995.

11] Post-communist coinage of Albania.

12] Post-communist coinage of Lithuania.

13] Post-communist coinage of Romania.

14] Slovakia's first post-communist coin series.

15] Slovenia: post-Yugoslav coinage.

16] Romanian and Moldovan Variations of the 1990s.

17] The final coin series of Yugoslavia.