Russia 1865-SP SS 5 rubles
This specimen was lot 32258 in Heritage sale 3067 (Long Beach, September 2018), where it sold for $12,000. The catalog description[1] noted, "Russia: Alexander II gold 5 Roubles 1865 CПБ-CШ MS64 NGC, St. Petersburg mint. Obv. Crowned double-headed Imperial eagle. Rev. Date and value in circle. Bright golden mint luster, with a superb strike and only minor imperfections. Extremely rare in this Choice condition, with none certified finer, and only one other piece certified in MS64." This type is listed for 1859-85 and is fairly common in circulated condition. In 1886, the standard was revised to match the French twenty francs d'or, resulting in a weight reduction to .186 troy oz (see KM Y42). Assayer CШ (Sergei Shostak) is listed for 1865-66 only.
Recorded mintage: 3,900,000 (including mintmaster AC).
Specification: 6.54 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-163, KM-YB26, Bit-12.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Harris, Robert P., Guidebook of Russian Coins, 1725 to 1970, Santa Cruz, CA: Bonanza Press, 1971.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2018 September 6-11 Long Beach Expo World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction #3067, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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