Tomorrow, December 8, Bonhams is presenting their auction of the Tsarina Collection of Russian Gold Coins and Medals as part of their 530 piece Coins and Banknotes sale.
Comprised of just under 100 items, this private collection has been off the market for many years with several of the coins and medals never having been offered at public auction at all.
The Tsarina Collection contains numerous rare and freshly preserved earlier issues dating to the 1600s. Highlights include the most valuable coin in the collection, an 1876 Alexander II gold 25 Roubles, Y-27. This was a proof-only issue, not struck for circulation. Graded extremely fine, the coin is estimated to bring $80,000-100,000.
 Alexander II 1876 25 Roubles gold coin |
Also being offered during the autumn sale is an extremely rare Nicholas I, 1825-1855, 1836 pattern 10 Roubles, with a dual portrait. Perhaps the rarest coin in the entire Collection, only ten pieces are known to exist. It is listed at $50,000-70,000 and would make a great investment.
Additional items of note include an exceptional example of an 1826 Nicholas I Coronation medal in gold weighing over five ounces (166 grams). The piece exhibits deeply mirrored fields, a contrast against the heavily frosted devices, and is possibly the finest surviving example of a coronation medal from this date ($40,000-50,000).
Among other exceptional and rare gold medals, the collection features not just one but two exceptionally rare Peter the Great Gold Medals of 20 Ducats, one dated 1710, the other dated 1719 (both estimated to be worth $15,000-20,000).
 Nicholas II 1902 37 Roubles 50 Kopecks gold coin |
Other noteworthy pieces on offer on December 8th include a 1902 Nicholas II, 37 ½ Roubles of which only 225 pieces were struck ($60,000-80,000) and a Nicholas II, 25 Roubles coin ($50,000-70,000) from 1896.
For collectors at an earlier stage in their collection, there is a 1756 Elizabeth gold 5 Roubles - an exceptionally well-preserved surviving example of this very rare issue ($15,000-20,000) and a very rare, mint state Mikhail I Fyodorovich Romanov, 1613-1645, undated 4 Ducats ($7,000-10,000).
We're expecting this sale to present some very strong results given the surge in Russian collecting in general and of Russian coins in particular (for example at Hess-Divo). Watch this space for the results.
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