New Russian coins mark events in 2007

Russia's central bank has released the first collector and investor coins for 2007. They are made of precious metals and mark events like the 100th birthday of spacecraft designer, Sergey Korolev.

Several designs are dedicated to the International Polar Year – a scientific programme focusing on the north and south poles. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sergey Korolev, the bank dedicated a coin.

As well as collectibles, a large amount of the so-called 'investor' coins have been released.

Collector coins have a certain theme – famous people, wildlife, events, which are all relevant for the time in which they are produced. Sooner or later, they lose their relevance. But investment coins don't have an assigned theme. They are very neutral, not assigned to any events or dates. Their artistic design doesn't change.

Investors don't really care about what is on the coin, but the amount of precious metal in the coin and its price.

The coin collecting boom in Russia started in the mid 1990's. Around the time of the perestroika, Russians began collecting. Conferences were held, books and catalogues began to emerge.

The last 10 to 15 years have seen a steady growth in coin interest, and not only from those that consider themselves collectors, but also those that are wealthy and want to invest.