Coins, Currency, and Medals

The museum possesses one of the largest and most diverse numismatic collections in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia. The collection includes coins, paper money, medals, tokens, commodity and alternative currencies, coin dies, printing plates, scales and weights, financial documents and apparatuses, credit cards, and objects that reflect established and emerging digital monetary technologies worldwide.

In 1848, the largest single gold rush in history was just getting under way in California. This event soon triggered a mass migration of fortune hunters from around the world.
Description
In 1848, the largest single gold rush in history was just getting under way in California. This event soon triggered a mass migration of fortune hunters from around the world. At the outset, much of the California gold was converted to coins by private minters in the San Francisco area. However, supplies of gold were also sent to Philadelphia where the metal was turned into ordinary federal coins.
Smaller quantities of gold made it to various locations including Oregon. Between March and September, 1849, an entity calling itself the Oregon Exchange Company struck $10 and $5 coins, by hand, in Oregon City. Both denominations bore simple designs. Their obverses depicted a beaver, the fur-bearing mammal that had spurred the first interest in the region. Above the animal, there were initials standing for the last names of the principal players in the operation.
The initials O.T. or T.O. (both for Oregon Territory) and the date rounded out the obverse design. For the reverse, the name of the issuing authority and the denomination sufficed. Scholars believe that around 2,850 of the $10 coins were made. Dies for them can still be seen at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.
But the life of the Oregon mint was brief. The coiners set their products' weight above federal norms, and most of the Oregon coinage was melted down for profit. The mint ceased operation early in September 1849.
date made
1849
maker
United States Mint
Oregon Exchange Company
ID Number
1985.0441.2216
catalog number
1985.0441.2216
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Emblem of Mormon Priesthood: 3-pointed Phrygian Crown above all-seeing eye.Obverse Text: TO THE LORD HOLINESSReverse Image: Clasped hands.Reverse Text: PURE GOLD / TEN DOLLARS / 1849Eagles with these designs were probably th
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Emblem of Mormon Priesthood: 3-pointed Phrygian Crown above all-seeing eye.
Obverse Text: TO THE LORD HOLINESS
Reverse Image: Clasped hands.
Reverse Text: PURE GOLD / TEN DOLLARS / 1849
Description
Eagles with these designs were probably the first coins struck at the mint established by the Mormons. They were made from unalloyed gold, and no more than ten are known. The source of their metal was California. Mormon miners brought the gold home with them in the form of dust when they returned to Utah.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
maker
Mormon Mint
ID Number
1985.0441.2219
catalog number
1985.0441.2219
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Emblem of Mormon Priesthood: 3-pointed Phrygian Crown above all-seeing eye.Obverse Text: TO THE LORD HOLINESSReverse Image: Clasped hands.Reverse Text: G. S. L. C. P. G.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Emblem of Mormon Priesthood: 3-pointed Phrygian Crown above all-seeing eye.
Obverse Text: TO THE LORD HOLINESS
Reverse Image: Clasped hands.
Reverse Text: G. S. L. C. P. G. / TWENTY DOLLARS / 1849
Description
Not all of the California gold was turned into coins in California. Some of it went north, where it was minted into currency by the Oregon Exchange Company. And some of it went east, to Utah Territory, carried home by Mormon miners who left the cities of Sacramento and San Francisco for Salt Lake City.
On Brigham Young's orders, a mint was set up to turn the California dust into Utah coins. One of the prime movers in the new venture was a British convert named John Mobourn Kay. Kay forged the die blanks, engraved the dies, and, for good measure, helped in the selection of their designs.
The first Mormon coins, eagles, appeared in December 1848-the very first American pioneer coins struck west of the Mississippi. Other denominations were soon added. All of them, including the double eagle on display, have radical design concepts unseen before or since. The coin on display was among the first double eagles ever struck and circulated in the United States. The obverses of these coins bore the emblem of the Mormon Priesthood, a three-pointed crown above an All-Seeing eye. The reverse displayed clasped hands, joined in friendship and solidarity, the badge of a new people stressing unity and welcoming newcomers. Few of these early Utah coins have survived. Most were melted down in the early 1850s. The Smithsonian coin is one of the finest known.
date made
1849
mint
Mormon Mint
ID Number
1985.0441.2218
catalog number
1985.0441.2218
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Beaver on log, branches below.Obverse Text: K.M.T.A.W.R.G.S. / T.O. / 1849Reverse Image: N/AReverse Text: OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY / 130 G. / NATIVE GOLD.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Beaver on log, branches below.
Obverse Text: K.M.T.A.W.R.G.S. / T.O. / 1849
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY / 130 G. / NATIVE GOLD. / 5 D.
Description
In 1848, the largest single gold rush in history was just getting under way in California. This event soon triggered a mass migration of fortune hunters from around the world. At the outset, much of the California gold was converted to coins by private minters in the San Francisco area. However, supplies of gold were also sent to Philadelphia where it was made into ordinary federal coins.
Smaller quantities of gold made it to various locations including Oregon. Between March and September, 1849, an entity calling itself the Oregon Exchange Company struck $10 and $5 coins, by hand, in Oregon City. Both denominations bore simple designs. Their obverses depicted a beaver, the fur-bearing mammal that had spurred the first interest in the region.
Above the animal, there were initials standing for the last names of the principal players in the operation. The initials O.T. or T.O. (both for Oregon Territory) and the date rounded out the obverse design. For the reverse, the name of the issuing authority and the denomination sufficed. Dies for the coins can still be seen at the Oregon Historical Society headquarters in Portland.
But the life of the Oregon mint was brief. The coiners set their products' weight above federal norms, and most of the Oregon coinage was melted down for profit. The mint ceased operation early in September 1849.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849
maker
Oregon Exchange Company
ID Number
1985.0441.2217
catalog number
1985.0441.2217
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Beaver on a log. Branches and stars.Obverse Text: K. M. T. R. C. S. / O.T. / 1849Reverse Image: N/AReverse Text: OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY / 10.D. 20.G. / NATIVE. / GOLD. / TEN. D.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Beaver on a log. Branches and stars.
Obverse Text: K. M. T. R. C. S. / O.T. / 1849
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY / 10.D. 20.G. / NATIVE. / GOLD. / TEN. D.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
Oregon Exchange Company
ID Number
NU.68.159.1175
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1175
One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1837 - 1842Obverse Image: Star.Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 22 CARATS. / 128. G.Reverse Image: Star.Reverse Text: C: BECHTLER. AT RUTHERF: / 5 DOLLARS.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1837 - 1842
Obverse Image: Star.
Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 22 CARATS. / 128. G.
Reverse Image: Star.
Reverse Text: C: BECHTLER. AT RUTHERF: / 5 DOLLARS.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1837 - 1842
ID Number
NU.68.159.1096
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1096
This ten dollar gold coin was minted by the Miners Bank of San Francisco in 1849.
Description
This ten dollar gold coin was minted by the Miners Bank of San Francisco in 1849. James Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill kicked off the California gold rush and changed the wealth and reach of the nation, as suddenly gold was in abundant supply and the population was shifting westward. With the plentiful gold, private companies sprang up to supply coinage for the growing population and burgeoning economy. One such company was the Miners Bank, founded in 1849. The bank issued both coins and notes, but when the coins were assayed at only .866 fineness they soon fell into disfavor and could only be redeemed at a 20% discount. Many of the coins were melted down and remade into official U.S. slugs. On the obverse, or front, is an eagle with spread wings and a breast shield, with 13 stars and “California” also printed above. On the reverse is printed “Miners, Bank” at the top and “Ten. D.” in the center, with “San Francisco” below and two stars in the center.
date made
1849
maker
Miners' Bank
ID Number
NU.68.159.1159
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1159
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1842
ID Number
CL.316042
accession number
66048
catalog number
316042
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this hard times token around 1841. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this hard times token around 1841. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and transportation tokens.
Obverse Profile image of Lady Liberty facing left.: The legend reads: E PLURIBUS UNUM/1841.
Reverse: The legend reads: MILLIONS FOR DEFENCE/NOT ONE CENT/FOR TRIBUTE.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1841
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1615
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1615
Probably produced by the Massachusetts & California Company's mint in Northampton, Massachusetts. Obverse: Shield with vaquero (cowboy) throwing lasso, bear and stag supporters. Reverse: Denomination within wreath, date below.
Description
Probably produced by the Massachusetts & California Company's mint in Northampton, Massachusetts. Obverse: Shield with vaquero (cowboy) throwing lasso, bear and stag supporters. Reverse: Denomination within wreath, date below. The Massachusetts & California Company shipped coining equipment to California in the spring of 1849. The shipment was lost, but it appears that a few coins such as this one were produced as samples in Massachusetts, reminders of a project that never came to fruition.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
Massachusetts and California Co.
ID Number
1985.0441.2203
catalog number
1985.0441.2203
accession number
1985.0441
One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Male bust facing left, wearing a feathered headdress.Obverse Text: CINCINNATI MINING & TRADING COMPANY.Reverse Image: Left facing eagle with shield clutching branch and arrows.Reverse Text: CALIFORNIA TEN DOLLARS, 1849.This
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Male bust facing left, wearing a feathered headdress.
Obverse Text: CINCINNATI MINING & TRADING COMPANY.
Reverse Image: Left facing eagle with shield clutching branch and arrows.
Reverse Text: CALIFORNIA TEN DOLLARS, 1849.
Description
This obscure company had a few five- and ten-dollar gold pieces struck for it sometime during the last third of 1849. Broderick & Kohler (who also coined for the Miners Bank and the Pacific Company), were probably responsible for the manufacture of this issue. The dies were likely made in Cincinnati, so that part of the firm's name was accurate.
We know very little about this issue. We don't know how many fives and tens were struck, although it seems likely that most were melted down. The Broderick & Kohler operation was discredited once rumors of the debasement of some of its products began to circulate, and the simplest way of dealing with substandard coins was to melt them down and start over.
We do know the following. The Cincinnati Mining & Trading Co. coins were struck by hand, in the time-honored manner of Antiquity. And we know that the coins' obverse and reverse designs represented a major departure from other people's money. The crude Liberty on the obverse bore a feather headdress, the first time this concept appeared on an American coin, while nothing else like the reverse eagle would be seen, anywhere, for decades.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company
ID Number
1985.0441.3000
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.3000
One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: Liberty cap on a pole with stars and rays radiating from it.Obverse Text: 10 DOLLARS.Reverse Image: Eagle holding a branch and a hammer.Reverse Text: PACIFIC COMPANY, CALIFORNIA.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: Liberty cap on a pole with stars and rays radiating from it.
Obverse Text: 10 DOLLARS.
Reverse Image: Eagle holding a branch and a hammer.
Reverse Text: PACIFIC COMPANY, CALIFORNIA. / 1849.
Description
Produced by the Pacific Company, California.
The pieces bearing the name of the Pacific Company have a somewhat complex history. A consortium bearing that name came to San Francisco in September 1849, but the members almost immediately fell out with each other. The firm disbanded the following month, and it has been conjectured that the dies for its coinage were sold to another coiner, Broderick & Kohler. That group in turn may have used the dies for five dollar as well as ten dollar gold pieces to strike a few examples of each. This is one of four pieces known for the ten dollar piece.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
Pacific Company
ID Number
1985.0441.2212
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.2212
One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1849Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / CAL. / J.S.OReverse Image: 20 stars around.Reverse Text: 5 DOLLSProduced by J.S.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1849
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / CAL. / J.S.O
Reverse Image: 20 stars around.
Reverse Text: 5 DOLLS
Description
Produced by J.S. Ormsby & Company in San Francisco, California.
The Ormsby operation got underway in the autumn of 1849, however the venture was not a success. The coins that were struck were crude and not worth their face value in metal. Most of them were melted down in short order. Two denominations were struck, evidently by means of a sledgehammer. Five ten-dollar pieces are known from this company. This is the only five-dollar piece known.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
maker
J.S. Ormsby
ID Number
1993.0531.0001
accession number
1993.0531
catalog number
1993.0531.0001
This five dollar coin was produced by the Massachusetts and California Company around 1849.
Description
This five dollar coin was produced by the Massachusetts and California Company around 1849. James Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill kicked off the California gold rush and changed the wealth and reach of the nation as gold was suddenly in plentiful supply and the population was shifting westward. As the government lagged behind the gold rush to mint its own coins, private businesses filled the void in the market. The Massachusetts and California Company operated from 1849 until 1854, most likely bringing gold back to Northampton, Massachusetts, to be minted. Contemporary reports note that the five dollar piece was debased with copper, indicative of coins minted in the east. On the obverse, or front, of the coin are arms holding a spear; a bear and a stag stand on either side of the shield showing a vaquero throwing a lasso. A scroll with “ALTA” appears below the arms. On the reverse is a laurel wreath tied with bow with twenty stars arrayed around. The coin reads “5 Dollars” in the center. The rim reads “MASSACHUSETTS & CALIFORNIA CO 1849.”
date made
1849
maker
Massachusetts and California Co.
ID Number
NU.68.159.1158
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1158
The first gold from the Golden State was alluvial, found in rivers and streams and free of the rocky matrix that had once held it. Larger pieces were called nuggets. Smaller ones were called dust.
Description
The first gold from the Golden State was alluvial, found in rivers and streams and free of the rocky matrix that had once held it. Larger pieces were called nuggets. Smaller ones were called dust. It was this type of river-born metal that gave us one of our most indelible images of the West: a fortune-seeker by a stream, swirling sand and water in a simple pan, looking for the glint of wealth and a golden dream.
Our nugget weighs about a tenth of an ounce. Its deep yellow color suggests the purity of the metal it contains-about 90 percent.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1849
ID Number
1979.1263.01100
catalog number
1979.1263.01100
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
OC 3 B
RS StorecardObverse Inscription: P.3 1840Currently not on view
Description
RS Storecard
Obverse Inscription: P.3 1840
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
ID Number
NU.69.129.720
catalog number
69.129.720
accession number
286472
This 300 dollar check was made out to A. H. Nichols from the Steuben County Bank of Bath, New York, on January 13, 1844. The check is number 140 in the series, and reads “For Magee and Cook,” for the bank’s president, John Magee, and its cashier, Constant Cook.
Description
This 300 dollar check was made out to A. H. Nichols from the Steuben County Bank of Bath, New York, on January 13, 1844. The check is number 140 in the series, and reads “For Magee and Cook,” for the bank’s president, John Magee, and its cashier, Constant Cook. The Steuben County Bank was chartered for thirty years with a capital of 150,000 dollars on May 9, 1832. Magee was a congressional representative from 1827–1831, an appointment which spoke to his high standing in the community—necessary in a time when banks could go out of business in an instant and personal responsibility for a bank’s fortunes helped spur public confidence in the local bank.
Location
Currently not on view
date on object
1844-01-13
date made
1844
ID Number
2010.0018.104
accession number
2010.0018
serial number
140
catalog number
2010.0018.104
The Merchants and Planters Bank of Florida produced this two dollar note during the 1840s. The Merchants and Planters Bank of Florida was founded in 1832 in Magnolia, Florida, but rechartered in 1834 with the right to establish branches in St. Joseph and Tallahassee.
Description
The Merchants and Planters Bank of Florida produced this two dollar note during the 1840s. The Merchants and Planters Bank of Florida was founded in 1832 in Magnolia, Florida, but rechartered in 1834 with the right to establish branches in St. Joseph and Tallahassee. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, a well-known 19th-century printing and engraving firm, printed this note. The note has an allegorical image of Moneta on the left with a cotton bush on the right. The note is made out to James K. Polk; the cashier signature is “H. Clay” and the president’s signature line reads “M. Van Buren.” The signatures are likely a political statement about the 1844 election that saw James K. Polk win the Democratic Party nomination from Martin Van Buren to defeat Whig candidate Henry Clay in the general election.
From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and several are held in the National Numismatic Collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1845-03-01
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.1263.01840
accession number
1979.1263
serial number
11988
collector/donor number
CM01491
catalog number
79.112.CM01491
One (1) 6 ruble coin, Nicholas IRussia, 1840Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: 4 ЗОЛ / 82 ДОЛ / ЧИСТОЙ УРАЛЬСКОИ ПЛАТИНЫ / 6 РУБЛЕЙ НА СЕРЕБРО / 1840 / С.П.Б.Reverse Image: Center the Russian coat-of-arms, a double-headed eagle wearing a shield with a mounted figure (Saint George),
Description (Brief)
One (1) 6 ruble coin, Nicholas I
Russia, 1840
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: 4 ЗОЛ / 82 ДОЛ / ЧИСТОЙ УРАЛЬСКОИ ПЛАТИНЫ / 6 РУБЛЕЙ НА СЕРЕБРО / 1840 / С.П.Б.
Reverse Image: Center the Russian coat-of-arms, a double-headed eagle wearing a shield with a mounted figure (Saint George), the imperial crowns on each head stand for the unity and sovereignty of Russia, the orb and scepter grasped in the eagle's talons are traditional heraldic symbols.
Reverse Text: N/A
Description
Minted in Russia in 1840, this coin worth 6 rubles was issued during the reign of Nicholas I. Married to Charlotte (Alexandra Fedorovna) of Prussia, Nicholas I ruled from 1825 to his death on March 2, 1855. He led the Russian army unsuccessfully in the Crimean War, but helped defeat the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War (1828-29). Under his rule, the Russian Empire spanned over 7.7 million square miles.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
ruler
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
issuing authority
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
ID Number
NU.69.128.79
catalog number
69.128.79
accession number
286473
This jeton also known as a store card, was given to workers instead of salary. By forcing employees to spend their pay in the same places they worked—businesses profited.Currently not on view
Description
This jeton also known as a store card, was given to workers instead of salary. By forcing employees to spend their pay in the same places they worked—businesses profited.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1843
ID Number
NU.68.123.1629
catalog number
68.123.1629
accession number
68.123
Benjamin Pike Jr. (1809–1864), an instrument maker and dealer who had recently opened a shop at 294 Broadway, won this silver medal at the American Institute Fair held in New York City in 1844. The obverse is marked "Awarded to Benjamin Pike, Jr. For Superior Air Pumps.
Description
Benjamin Pike Jr. (1809–1864), an instrument maker and dealer who had recently opened a shop at 294 Broadway, won this silver medal at the American Institute Fair held in New York City in 1844. The obverse is marked "Awarded to Benjamin Pike, Jr. For Superior Air Pumps. 1844." The reverse is marked "AMERICAN INSTITUTE, NEW YORK. R. LOVETT." Pike knew his market well. Americans at that time were establishing numerous schools and colleges and equipping them with instruments for scientific demonstrations. In his Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical Instruments (1848), designed to attract customers around the country, Pike offered seven different air pumps and many devices to use with them.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1844
commemorated
Pike, Jr., Benjamin
maker
Lovett, Sr., Robert
ID Number
PH.334871
catalog number
334871
accession number
312744
This small piece of yellow metal is believed to be the first piece of gold discovered in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in California, launching the gold rush.James Marshall was superintending the construction of a sawmill for Col.
Description
This small piece of yellow metal is believed to be the first piece of gold discovered in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in California, launching the gold rush.
James Marshall was superintending the construction of a sawmill for Col. John Sutter on the morning of January 24, 1848, on the South Fork of the American River at Coloma, California, when he saw something glittering in the water of the mill's tailrace. According to Sutter's diary, Marshall stooped down to pick it up and "found that it was a thin scale of what appeared to be pure gold." Marshall bit the metal as a test for gold.
In June of 1848, Colonel Sutter presented Marshall's first-find scale of gold to Capt. Joseph L. Folsom, U.S. Army Assistant Quartermaster at Monterey. Folsom had journeyed to Northern California to verify the gold claim for the U.S. Government.
The gold samples then traveled with U.S. Army Lt. Lucien Loeser by ship to Panama, across the isthmus by horseback, by ship to New Orleans, and overland to Washington. A letter of transmittal from Folsom that accompanied the packet lists Specimen #1 as "the first piece of gold ever discovered in this Northern part of Upper California found by J. W. Marshall at the Saw Mill of John A. Sutter."
By August of 1848, as evidence of the find, this piece and other samples of California gold had arrived in Washington, D.C., for delivery to President James K. Polk and for preservation at the National Institute. Within weeks, President Polk formally declared to Congress that gold had been discovered in California.
In 1861, the National Institute and its geological specimens, including this gold and the letter, entered the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The Marshall Nugget remains in the collections as evidence of the discovery of gold in California.
Date made
1848
Associated Date
1848
referenced
Sutter, John
Polk, President James K.
Loesser, Lucian
ID Number
CL.135(1861).01
accession number
135
catalog number
135(1861).01
One (1) 12 ruble coin, Nicholas IRussia, 1840Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: 9 ЗОЛ . 68 ДОЛ . ЧИСТОЙ УРАЛЬСКОЙ ПЛАТИНЫ / 12 / РУБЛЕЙ / НА СЕРЕБРО / 1840. / С.П.Б. [12 RUBLES TO THE SILVER / 1840 SPB / 9 ZLOT.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 12 ruble coin, Nicholas I
Russia, 1840
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: 9 ЗОЛ . 68 ДОЛ . ЧИСТОЙ УРАЛЬСКОЙ ПЛАТИНЫ / 12 / РУБЛЕЙ / НА СЕРЕБРО / 1840. / С.П.Б. [12 RUBLES TO THE SILVER / 1840 SPB / 9 ZLOT. / 68 SHARES OF PURE URAL PLATINUM]
Reverse Image: Center the Russian coat-of-arms, a two-headed eagle wearing a shield with a mounted figure (Saint George,) the imperial crowns on each head stand for the unity and sovereignty of Russia, the orb and scepter grasped in the eagle's talons are traditional heraldic symbols.
Reverse Text: N/A
Description
Minted in Russia in 1840, this coin worth 12 rubles was issued during the reign of Nicholas I. Married to Charlotte (Alexandra Fedorovna) of Prussia, Nicholas I ruled from 1825 to his death on March 2, 1855. He led the Russian army unsuccessfully in the Crimean War, but helped defeat the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War (1828-29). Under his rule, the Russian Empire spanned over 7.7 million square miles.
date made
1840
ruler
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
issuing authority
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
ID Number
NU.69.128.242
catalog number
69.128.242
accession number
286473
One (1) ruble coin, patternRussia, 1845Obverse Image: Right-facing portrait of Emperor Nicholas I.Obverse Text: Б / M / NИКOЛАИ / I / ИМПЕРАТОРЪ / И / САМОДЕРКЕПЪ / BCEPOCC.
Description (Brief)
One (1) ruble coin, pattern
Russia, 1845
Obverse Image: Right-facing portrait of Emperor Nicholas I.
Obverse Text: Б / M / NИКOЛАИ / I / ИМПЕРАТОРЪ / И / САМОДЕРКЕПЪ / BCEPOCC. [Nicholas I the Emperor and Autocrat of all Russia]
Reverse Image: Center the Russian coat-of-arms, a double-headed eagle wearing a shield with a mounted figure (Saint George), the imperial crowns on each head stand for the unity and sovereignty of Russia, the orb and scepter grasped in the eagle's talons are traditional heraldic symbols.
Reverse Text: ЧИСТАГО / CEPEБPA / 4 30ЛОТНИКА / 21 ДОЛЯ / 1845 [4 zlotn. / 21 shares of pure silver / 1845]
Description
Minted in Russia in 1845, this pattern ruble was issued during the reign of Nicholas I. Married to Charlotte (Alexandra Fedorovna) of Prussia, Nicholas I ruled from 1825 to his death on March 2, 1855. He led the Russian army unsuccessfully in the Crimean War, but helped defeat the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War (1828-29). Under his rule, the Russian Empire spanned over 7.7 million square miles.
date made
1845
head of government
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
issuing authority
Nicholas I Emperor of Russia
ID Number
NU.68.263.202
accession number
281689
catalog number
68.263.202

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