1 Ducat - Ernst Johann von Biron large bust

Ernst Johann von Biron spent twenty-two years in Siberian exile before Catherine the Great restored his title and returned him to Courland in 1763. This ducat, struck the following year, was among his first acts of sovereignty reasserted — the Mitau mint reopened specifically to produce coinage befitting a reestablished ducal court. Biron was already in his mid-seventies.

The "large bust" designation distinguishes this from the smaller-portrait variety of the same year, a die difference with meaningful catalog implications. Kop#4103 confirms the distinction.