Georgia 1810 bisti
This specimen was lot 58232 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $100. The catalog description[1] noted, "RUSSIA. Georgia. Bisti (2 Kopeks), 1810. Tbilisi Mint. Alexander I. PCGS Genuine--Environmental Damage, VF Details." In the late eighteenth century, the kingdom of Georgia, which had once ruled most of the Caucasus mountains, had splintered. Russia had little difficulty vacuuming up the little pieces and by 1813 had extinguished all trace of independence. Persia and Turkey also had claims over the region but were defeated in several wars. This type was struck 1805-10 in the name of David the Regent (r. 1800-19). One abaz was ten bisti or twenty kopeks. Altho Georgia regained her independence in 1991, violence has not abated as the regime struggles with Ossetian, Chechen and Abkhazi separatists.
Recorded mintage: 315,000.
Specification: 15.55 g, copper, 30 mm diameter, reticulated edge.
Catalog reference: KM-72; Bit-790.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to: