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- Gold from the trunk: smuggling of German coins revealed the problem of illegal collections
Gold from the trunk: smuggling of German coins revealed the problem of illegal collections
An attempt to smuggle cultural property was stopped in the Smolensk region when a Russian citizen tried to take 144 gold coins of the German Empire hidden in the trunk of a passenger car abroad. A criminal case has been opened, and an examination has confirmed their status as cultural property of the Russian Federation with a total preliminary value of over 1 million rubles. Meanwhile, numismatists emphasize that such coins are convenient for sale on the shadow market due to their compactness and liquidity, while the "dormant collections" of the 1990s continue to be kept in the shadows. All the details are in the Izvestia article.
The incident at the border and the reaction of the authorities
Law enforcement agencies stopped the export at the checkpoint, where the coins were found during a trunk inspection, which allowed them to quickly intervene and prevent the loss of artifacts. The investigation is aimed at establishing all the circumstances, including possible links to organized shadow networks of the numismatic market.
The Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation records a steady increase in seizures: from 2020 to 2025, the number of cases increased by 28%, and in 2024, 450 million rubles worth of valuables were detained, where coins are leading in the frequency of export attempts on the western borders.
— Unfortunately, coins are convenient for smuggling due to their size and the value concentrated in such a volume. Therefore, for sure, they are constantly being driven by poorly trained people. That's why they are detained more often," emphasizes Alexander Varkentin, executive director of the Alexander auction house, a specialist in numismatics.
The seized artifacts are transferred to the state in accordance with the established procedure: by January 2026, the Ministry of Culture had transferred 653 units to museums and organizations, compared to 614 in 2025 and 519 in 2024.
Characteristics and historical context
The German Empire, or the so—called Second Reich, existed from 1871 to 1918 and during this time managed to issue a whole series of precious (silver and gold) coins with portraits of its emperors - William I, Frederick III and William II. There were 5, 10 and 20 stamps in circulation, which until 1914 were fully provided with precious metal and were actively used not only domestically, but also in international trade.
The smallest of them — 5 stamps of the 1877-1878 model — weighed only 1,9912 g with a diameter of 17 mm: the reverse depicted an imperial eagle with the inscription Deutsches Reich ("German Reich"), however, due to the too compact format, such coins were quickly recognized as inconvenient, and their issue was discontinued. Denominations of 10 stamps (1872-1914, 3.9825 grams, diameter 19.5 mm) and 20 stamps (before 1915, 7.9650 grams, 22.5 mm) with the inscription Gott mit uns ("God is with us") turned out to be much more in demand.
— The presence of gold coins of the era of William I and subsequent emperors on the territory of Russia is explained by the fact that it was during these years that trade relations were intensively developing — German subjects were doing business in the territory of the Russian Empire, — says Natalia Rostislavleva, professor of the Department of General History of the Historical Faculty of the Historical and Archival Institute of the Russian State State University, director of the University Educational and Scientific Russian-German Center.
Germany in those years invested about 800 million marks in the Russian economy before the First World War, with the Bromley and Ferreina factories in both capitals, where the Germans conducted business without changing nationality, leaving coins in the country through frequent family trips.
"Russia prohibits the export of such coins because they have long been a part of our history and the multicultural environment in which we lived then," explains Professor Rostislavleva. — Therefore, even though it is gold or silver, any such items older than 50 years cannot be exported from the country.
The numismatic market: from legal auctions to shady transactions
Today, 19th century coin trading covers a wide range of channels: from auctions and banks to online stores and private transactions, where the price is formed from the base value of the metal and the collector's premium, making mass-produced copies an attractive alternative to bullion for investors.
— The value of a gold coin (and a silver coin too) consists of two components: the value of the metal and the collectible component. Accordingly, the smaller the collectible component, the closer the coin's price is to the value of the gold it is made of, and the more investors are interested in it than coin collectors," Alexander Varkentin describes.
Abroad, such coins are called Bullion coins (bullion coins) — bullion coins, so massive that they are considered simply as pieces of metal. According to the expert, currently the trade in precious metal coins in the Russian Federation is slightly in an uncertain legal field: modern coins of the Bank of Russia have the status of a means of payment, and old ones have to be classified as precious metals that require registration with the Federal Assay Chamber, which collectors often do not allow for the sake of safety.
"Nevertheless, online stores, auctions, banks, and companies specializing only in this field sell coins," continues expert Varkentin. — Trading in coupon coins through auction houses is unprofitable, as commissions eat up all the interest of the small premium between purchase and sale.
Specialized firms guarantee authenticity and have a customer base, while private companies most often use marketplaces. It is difficult to track the legality of coin trading, especially in private transactions where there are no documents at all.
— Legality is difficult to control. Not many coins can be called rare, few have any obvious signs by which one copy can be distinguished from another. When trading between private traders, it is impossible to control anything at all," says Alexander Varkentin.
The shadow segment today relies on messengers and forums, attracting collectors from Europe, the United States and Asia disguised as replicas or scrap.
Market value of Kaiser coins
The valuation of such valuables varies depending on the preservation, the year of minting, the mint mark and the provenance (history of origin): ordinary 10 and 20 marks in average condition cost 45 and 90 thousand rubles, respectively, close to the spot price of gold, which is the majority of the market supply, the expert explained.
— There are quite "simple" 10- and 20-vintage ones. In ordinary, not outstanding preservation, they are close to bill coins, and they cost close to metal: 45 and 90 thousand rubles, respectively. And they make up the majority of coins of that period that are circulating on the market," he clarifies.
According to open data, in 2024, the rare 5 stamps of 1877 (remelted edition) were estimated at 49 thousand rubles, 10 stamps of 1879 marked "A" (Berlin) - at 62.5 thousand, 20 stamps of 1872 with "B" (Breslau) — at 69.9 thousand, and copies in In "perfect" condition, they soar to tens of thousands of dollars.
— Coins of the German Empire made of gold, even in the simplest, ordinary version, cost from 70 thousand rubles apiece, — says Vasily Kapustin, an expert on numismatics at the Coins and Medals auction house.
It is believed that such coins are convenient for investment. They are distinguished by high liquidity (from 100 thousand rubles per batch, up to 1 million per batch), and "stability" on the black market even with bans.
— They have always had and still have high liquidity. If you need to sell, it can be done quickly and without a large spread between buying and selling. Small coins are quite convenient for their fractionality: you need 100 thousand rubles — sold one coin, you need 1 million rubles — sold 10 coins. And if you bought a 1 kg gold bar, then you won't be able to cut off 100 g from it," Varkentin argues.
Legislation and classification issues
Federal Law No. 73-FZ classifies items over 100 years old as valuables, requiring permission from the Ministry of Culture for export, however, changes introduced several years ago introduced circulation criteria: if the issue was large and more than 1,000 copies were preserved in the country, the coin may not be classified as cultural property.
In practice, it is impossible to prove the existence of such a large number of copies due to the lack of a complete register of private collections, and varieties based on the initials of the mintsmaster (head of the mint) - for example, 20 stamps of 1872 with "A" (Berlin) and "B" (Breslau) — remain a "gray" zone, since the law does not specify, whether to count them as one issue to calculate the circulation.
— A few years ago, there was a major change in the law on cultural property. On the one hand, it has become more logical and more systematic.: what is considered a "cultural value" and what is not, so as not to leave everything at the mercy of the expert's opinion. For example, it is said that if the circulation of a coin is large and there are many of them preserved in the country (even the number is prescribed in the law), then it can not be considered a cultural value. It seems logical. But how do you know how many copies of this coin have been preserved in the country? How can I prove to customs that there are definitely more than 1,000 of them? It's impossible! — Alexander Varkentin complains.
Experts emphasize the formalism of norms, where age prevails over real significance, increasing barriers to turnover.
— The current legislation is outdated and does not reflect the real state of affairs. The legal time limits of 50 and 100 years are absurd: formally, even a birth certificate issued more than 50 years ago may fall under the cultural property regime," Kapustin notes.
Many large collections from the 1990s did not pass the amnesties of 2011 and 2023, remaining in the shadows, as collectors prefer anonymity, with the exception of public projects such as the Vagit Alekperov Museum, which created and opened a museum based on its collection and is engaged in educational activities in this field.
Portrait of Georgy Mikhailovich Romanov and portrait of his wife Maria Georgievna in the International Museum of Numismatics in Moscow. In the center are copper coins from the collection of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich.
— Most collectors don't tell the general public what they have. Therefore, we can say that all private collections are in the shadow," says Alexander Varkentin.
According to Vasily Kapustin, a review of legislation is required today, which automatically classifies any objects older than 100 years as cultural property. After all, such coins are increasingly found in private collections in Russia," he adds, emphasizing the need for balance.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the State Duma and the Federal Customs Service.
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