More on Belarus Coins

Belarus Coins - Part Two

A few weeks back I posted about the rising demand for Belarus coinage and promised a follow-up with more information. Low mintages on many Belarus coins are making for tough acquisitions for new collectors. Both of these elements combined mean high prices.

The one ounce 1996 20 Roubles silver proofs, KM#13 and KM#14, both went up from $225 to $250. These two Olympic commemoratives each had a mintage of only 1,000, so it is likely that as the market expands, their values will continue to go up. Keep an eye out for them.

The 50 Roubles gold pieces are, of course, on the move also. These types sport animal designs and have cross-collecting appeal as a result, allowing their higher mintages of 3,000 pieces each to be readily absorbed. The KM#145 gold piece, with a pair of Swans, rose from $350 to $370, while the Herring Gull type, KM#123 went from $325 to $350. All of these animal gold 50 Roubles were struck in 2006, but this Belarus market eats up its new issues voraciously, forcing collectors outside the homeland to struggle in quick developing secondary markets.

More example of Belarus value increases include:

50 Roubles Bison, 2006, gold proof, KM#143 from $300 up to $400

100 Roubles Ballet Dancers, 2003, large silver proof, KM#58 from $600 up to $750

20 Roubles, Soviet Order of the Patriotic war, 2004, silver proof, KM#72 from $60 up to $100

20 Roubles, Freestyle Wrestling, 2003 silver proof, KM#120 from $30 up to $50