View source for Russia 1705 beard token

[[Image:SA50-1177.jpg|550px|thumb|Stephen Album sale 50, lot 1177]]

This specimen was lot 1177 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $2,640. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, "[[Russia|RUSSIA]]: Peter I, the Great, 1696-1725, AE beard token, 1705, Novodel type, narrow beard type; crowned double-headed eagle over date // denomination above nose, moustache, lips and beard, counterstamped with double-headed eagle, scratch, PCGS graded XF details, ex Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection. In 1698, Tsar Peter I of Russia instituted a beard tax as part of an effort to bring Russian society in line with Western European models. To enforce the ban on beards, the tsar empowered police to forcibly and publicly shave those who refused to pay the tax. Those who paid the tax were required to carry a "beard token." However, from a financial standpoint, the tax was unsuccessful due both to the relatively low number of people unwilling to shave their beards and an overestimation of the ability of the Russian state to administer and collect the tax. In 1772, the tax was formally repealed by Catherine the Great."

''Recorded mintage:'' unknown.

''Specification:'' copper.

''Catalog reference:'' Brekke-5, Bit-3894.

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* Bitkin, Vladimir, ''Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part I (1699-1740),'' Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
* Brekke, B. F., ''The Copper Coinage of Imperial Russia, 1700-1917,'' New York, Galerie des Monnaies, 1977, with 1987 supplement.
* <sup>[1]</sup>Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, ''Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection'', Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.

''Links to:''
* [[Russia (1705)-BK kopek|(1705)-БК kopek]]
* [[Russia (1705)-BK 10 kopeks|(1705)-БК grivna]]
* [[Russia (1705) 1/4 ruble|(1705) polupoltina]]
* [[Russia (1705) poltina|(1705) poltina]]
* [[Russia (1705) ruble Dav-1642|(1705) ruble]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1705]]

[[Category:Selections from Stephen Album sale 50]]