1925 AD., USSR, Leningrad Mint, 50 Kopeks, KM 89.2.

Russia, USSR, Leningrad Mint, mint official P.V. Latishev (ПЛ — Павел Латышев), 1925 AD.,
Poltinnik / Poltina (50 Kopeks) (27 mm / 9,91 g), silver 0.900 , mintage 43,558,000 ,
Obv.: СС - СР / ОДИН ПОЛТИННИК. / ВСЕХ СТРАН, СОЕДИНЯЙТЕСЬ! ПРОЛЕТАРИИ, Soviet emblems.
Rev.: 1925 Γ , a blacksmith working with hammer and anvil, various products on ground behind.
Edge: ЧИСТОГО СЕРЕБРА 9 ГРАММ (П.Л.) , weight of pure silver content shown in grams only, mint master´s initials П.Л. in Russian letters also in edge.
KM 89.2 ; Y 89 .

Poltina (auch "Poltinnik" russisch Полти́на, auch полти́нник) war eine russische Münze im Wert eines halben Rubels. Im 13. Jahrhundert erstmals erwähnt, handelte es sich dabei ursprünglich um einen ca. 100g schweren Silberbarren, also dem hälftigen Gewicht der ca. 200g schweren Rubel-Silberbarren. Sie wurde (analog dem Rubel) in 50 Kopeken als Recheneinheiten unterteilt. 1654 wurde die Poltina (unter Zar Alexei I.) zum ersten Mal als Münze in Kupfer ausgeprägt (in Umlauf bis ca. 1663). Unter Peter I. dem Großen wurde die Münze ab 1699 wieder in Silber geprägt, dessen Gewicht sich kontinuierlich verringerte. Im 19. Jahrhundert wurde dann die Münze nur mehr als 50 Kopeken-Stück ausgegeben. Die volkstümliche Bezeichnung blieb jedoch bis in die Sowjetunion erhalten, wo die silberne 50 Kopekenmünze von 1924 bis 1927 den Namen "Ein Poltinnik" im Revers trug.

In 1922 the name of the country was broadened to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or, in cyrillic, CCCP) but this was not reflected on the gold coinage of 1923. In 1924 the designs were changed and CCCP used for the first time.
Designs of 1924 are better executed than those of 1921 and show artistic skill. The ruble has on the obverse a young man showing the new way to an elderly peasant while the half ruble has a blacksmith symbolically forging a new nation. The small silver underwent minor changes only. There was a limited striking of redesigned gold coins in 1925 but these were later melted and only a single example is thought to exist. Copper coins were also struck beginning in 1924, using the 50-ruble standard of 1867.
Soviet authorities released the gold, silver and copper coins to circulation in early 1924.
There had been a series of currency "exchanges" for the paper ruble in preceding years (several million "old" to one "new" was a common rate) and the introduction of hard currency stabilized the monetary system. The public quickly' hoarded the gold coinage and no more was issued.
In order to have enough coinage on hand to keep the reform moving, the USSR contracted abroad for copper 5-kopeck coins and half rubles. The former were struck by Heaton’s in Birmingham, while the silver coins were produced by the Royal Mint in London. Some of the copper coinage of 1924 was struck by a Leningrad factory. (Petrograd had been renamed in 1924 after the death of Lenin.)