Rubles that never crash

By Polina Sonina


An old man in a shabby shirt in his basement dusting his precious collection. That's how you can imagine a collector. But Artyom Arzunyan is the opposite. Stylish senior who adores travelling, reads original resourses and speaks 4 languages.

The first three coins he bought graduating from the 3d form.
“After school I often went to look at coins of a very old man whose shop was
packed with antique things. As my mum kindly gave me some money that day I ran as fast as I could hoping to see my lovely coins on their shelf! These were 1,2 and 3 kopeks Nikolay II of 1910-1913"

Answering the question where the roots go Artyom says about his artistic and respectful parents.
“ My grandfather had 5 precious coins which he kept just because his predecessors  gave them to him. He collected stamps and his collection is really enormous so I keep it because I see the point. Nobody preceded me to collect coins.. It went without saying being based only on my interest”

Seeing some reliefs of these shining gold and silver coins with dated XVII-XXI centuries I feel the smell of the times.. Emperors volumetric portraits accompanied  by his passionate stories about each of them you seem to become a spectator of the people of the epoch as out of the door peephole.

He spontaneously gave me one coin.. Large round weighty piece of silver (as I saw it) but he saw its background and expected me to be as charmed by it as he was so I did my best and finally got the answer with great effort and with little assistant of google and logic, of course! It was the most rare and valued exhibit, his treasure made in honor of Peter II who according to the mystery and tragic "coup d'état"(overturn) he ruled just 3 years.

“It’s Peter II ruble”-he exclaimed. “look as well it was preserved!”

The rest of that enormous album included all the Lenin silver coins- latest silver coins made in Russia. He also had almost all the Nikolay II coins, many foreign coins from old and morden times, collections such as  50states of America coins, anniversary Russian and soviet coins and many others.



Artyom pays most of his attention to the coins  of Russian tsarist time. The times when everything was unbelievably well-done, especially something with a Tzar's portrait on it.

During our conversation I just couldn't get rid of the feeling that he forced himself to share all these stories. It seemed to be so sacred for my closest friend as though he was  deeply obssessed with his collection.

 Though Artyom has so many interests, he can’t miss any of coins' exhibition or just pass be the new numismatic shop. He adores everything that has a relief and historic value , “Anything belonging to the past".