Russia 1860-SP FB ruble Dav-289
This specimen was lot 25849 in Heritage sale 3032 (Chicago, April 2014), where it sold for $38,775. The catalog description[1] noted, "Rare Mint State 1860 Alexander II Rouble The Only Example Certified by NGC 1860 CПБ-ФБ, St. Petersburg mint, MS63 NGC. Obv. Crowned double-headed Imperial eagle with legend around. Rev. Crowned date and value in wreath. Well struck, and fully lustrous, with prooflike fields and only a few minor imperfections. An extremely rare issue, with a very small mintage of only 18,003 pieces. The only recent, similar, offering we can reference is a nice AU example sold in June of 2007 by Hess-Divo at 43,000 Swiss Francs (approximately US$35,000). This is the single, regular issue, example of this date certified by NGC. Ex: Heiberg Collection, Gorny Auction 85, October 1997, Lot 1005." This type was struck 1859-85 in respectable quantities but not so many as the prior type (Dav-283). In 1886, the ruble was reduced to 20 grams.
Recorded mintage: 18,003 (a rare date).
Specification: 20.73 g, 0.868 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-289; Bitkin-71 (R1), KM-Y25, Severin-3692.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Harris, Robert P., Guidebook of Russian Coins, 1725 to 1970, Santa Cruz, CA: Bonanza Press, 1971.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3032, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
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