Russia 1988 25 rubles

Stack's Bowers November 2022 Collectors Choice sale, lot 75623

This specimen was lot 75623 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $2,040. The catalog description^[1] noted, "RUSSIA. Palladium 25 Rubles, 1988-(L). Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Mint. NGC PROOF-69 Ultra Cameo. A stunning example honoring a millennium of Christianity in Russia, this full ounce of Palladium is beautiful and falls just short of being perfect." Palladium was promoted in the late eighties and early nineties as a precious metal alternate to the more costly gold and platinum. The Communist regime, in its declining years, issued dozens of commemoratives in various metals as a means of earning foreign exchange.

Recorded mintage: 7,000.

Specification: 31.10 g, 0.999 fine palladium.

Catalog reference: Fr-196; KM-Y212.

Source:

• 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, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

• 1988 5 rubles, statue of Peter the Great
• 1988 50 rubles, 1000th anniversary of Russian architecture
• 1988 100 rubles, 1000th anniversary of the first Russian coin
• 1988 150 rubles, 1000th anniversary of Russian literature
• 1989 25 rubles, ballerina, palladium
• Coins and currency dated 1988