Lot #610: USSR 1946 Twenty Kopeck Coin - Hammer and Sickle - State Emblem (11-Ribbon Type) - СССР (SSSR) - Josef Stalin

Obverse: Features the State Emblem of the USSR with a hammer and sickle over the globe. Crucially, the wheat stalks are wrapped in 11 ribbons, representing the 11 republics that officially made up the Union at the start of that administrative period. The letters CCCP (SSSR) are prominently displayed in a curved fashion at the bottom. Reverse: Features the denomination 20 inside a central hexagonal shield. Below the shield is the word КОПЕЕК (Kopecks), and the date 1946 is positioned at the very bottom. The shield is flanked by a decorative arrangement of oak leaves and a wheat ear, a hallmark of the 1935–1957 design series. The 1946 USSR 20 Kopecks is a poignant piece of numismatic history, struck during the first full year of peace following World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War). It features the "11-ribbon" State Emblem, a design specific to the era before the post-war expansion of the Soviet Republics was fully reflected in the coinage.This was a period of intense post-war recovery. Because resources were being funneled into rebuilding cities like Stalingrad and Minsk, the quality of the coinage can vary; some planchets (the blank metal discs) show signs of the era's industrial strain. The 11-ribbon design is particularly interesting to collectors because it was replaced shortly after in 1948 by the 16-ribbon version to reflect the newly incorporated republics. Dimensions: Cupro-Nickel. 21.8 mm. 3.6 g. Pickup category timeslot {A}