Commemorative coins of the Russian Empire

The history of coinage commemorative coins begins before the onset of the XIX century. In the XVIII century, there were special tokens issued in honor of important events, their minting carried out in weight against ducat. Tokens were made in memory of the past coronations. There is reason to believe that it was the tokens used to spread around the crowd of people. Commemorative and award medals were used, which were minted in the weight of a silver ruble. Unlike most coins, they did not have a denomination ^[1] .

Commemorative, commemorative and donative coins of the Russian Empire should not be confused with each other - they have characteristic differences ^[1] . Donative coins were given souvenir value, and commemorative coins could be used as well as ordinary coins, which were issued in whole copies. Commemorative coins were made in a high artistic style, the best engravers worked on them. Most often they were minted in silver ^[1] .

In 1832, a five-ruble coin was issued, which was issued to commemorate the commencement of its use in the coin production of gold that was mined in the Kolyvan-Voskresensk mines ^[1] . It was a Russian commemorative coin, which was minted with a circulation of 1000 copies. On the five-ruble coin - the golden semi-imperial - there was an inscription “ROS.KOLYV.”, Which meant “from the placers of Kolyvansky”. On the obverse of the coin is a two-headed heraldic eagle with a crown, scepter, orb ^[7] . The weight of the coin is 6.54 g, of which 6 g is pure gold, diameter is 22.6 mm ^[8] .

In honor of the opening of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg in 1834, the first Russian silver commemorative ruble was minted ^[1] . The column itself was installed in 1832, the coin was minted in 1836, but it dates from 1834. On one side of the coin there is an image of the Alexander Column and the signature “Alexander the First is a grateful Russia. 1834 "and contains the denomination of" 1 ruble. " On the other hand, a portrait of the emperor was inscribed with the inscription “Alexander the First B. M. The Emperor Vseros” ^[3] .

In the autumn of 1835, the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire, Count Kankrin, received from the Russian ambassador in Munich, Prince Grigory Ivanovich Gagarin, the coin of 1828, The Blessing of Heaven. The coin was a portrait of the monarch on the obverse and the wife and eight children on the reverse. This coin served as a prototype for creating a coin with a similar design in Russia. Issuance of coins suggested to make a decade of the reign of Nicholas I, which is gradually approaching. The Minister of Finance instructed the mint to engage in the secret production of one and a half ruble stamps. Portraits of members of the imperial family decided to copy from the snuff-box, which was the prince Golitsyn. Major General Yevstafy I. Ellers of the court yard Wardain ordered Paul Utkin to engrave the stamps. Pavel Utkin was a graduate of the Academy of Arts and in 1835 he was approved as a medalist. In December 1835 the first sample of the coin was created, which had significant differences from its prototype. It was not indicated on the title of monarch, as there was no reason for the minting of a commemorative coin. But the year of chasing was indicated as 1835, and the denomination was double, Russian-Polish. Initially, 46 coins were minted, of which 10 were rejected. 36 coins were given to Count Kankrin. On December 6, 1835, Emperor Nicholas I received coins, the minting idea of ​​which was approved with some amendments. The emperor did not like the portrait of the empress, who, in his opinion, looked older than in real life. Medalist Pavel Utkin made new stamps that were dated already in 1836. The front side of the coin almost did not change, but changes were made in the opposite direction of the coin. The face of the empress was depicted differently, the frames around the portraits of the great princes and princesses were removed, and the medalist’s signature was removed. The emperor liked the new design of the half-ruble car. February 2, 1836 - the date of the decree on the manufacture of one hundred coins, of which only 50 were minted due to the fact that the existing stamps failed. The new stamps had some differences from the old ones - the medalist’s signature was listed as “P. W. " ^[9] . Emperor Nicholas I's family-owned half-ruble was minted in silver. The weight of the coin was 33.11 g, of which 27 g was pure silver. The diameter of the coin was 40 mm ^[10] .

At the St. Petersburg Mint in 1836, gold rubles were minted to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the coronation. The weight of the coin was 13.08 g, of which 12 g of pure gold. The diameter of the coin is 27.5 mm ^[8] .

In 1839 a half-silver silver was minted to commemorate the opening of the monument-chapel on the Borodino field. The weight of the coin was 33.11 g, of which 27 g was pure silver. The diameter of the coin is 40 mm ^[11] .

In 1841 a silver coin was minted to commemorate the marriage of the heir to the throne. The weight of the coin is 20.73 g, of which pure silver is 18 g. The diameter is 35.5. On the coin was the signature of the medal of "Rezal GUBE" ^[12] .

Commemorative coins differed original design and interesting decoration. Famous engravers worked on their creation: A.F. Vasyutinsky, V.A. Alekseev, A.A. Grilikhes, Guba, A.P. Lyalin, who was considered a pupil of the famous medalist FN Tolstoy ^[13] .

In 1913, in honor of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov , the ruble was minted, the circulation of which amounted to one and a half million copies ^[3] .

Another memorable coin is the Gangutsky ruble ^[3] minted in the amount of 30 thousand pieces in June 1914 in honor of the bicentennial from the moment of the famous battle of the sea ^[2] - the victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedish fleet in the Baltic Sea near Cape Gangut. The Gangutsky ruble is the last memorable coin minted during the time of the Russian Empire ^[14] .

Famous engravers, artists and medalists were attracted to create commemorative coins ^[3] .

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