Catalog
1 Penni - Alexander II Pattern
| Issuer | Imperial Russian Mint (Helsinki Mint) |
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| Year | 1863 |
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| Composition | Copper |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the crowned imperial cypher of Tsar Alexander II, composed of an ornate interlaced 'A' surmounted by a stylised 'II' below, the whole topped by the Russian imperial crown with flanking ribbon scrolls. The monogram is executed in a foliate, Baroque-influenced style with elaborate curling flourishes at the base. The design is contained within a raised inner circle, bordered by a fine dentilated rim along the coin's outer edge. No peripheral legend appears; the composition is entirely dominated by the crowned royal cipher. The overall style reflects the refined engraving standards of the Helsinki Mint's mid-19th century pattern issues. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1863 - Only 1 is known to exist. |
| Additional information |
The 1863 penni patterns were struck at Helsinki as Finland's monetary system was being formalized under Alexander II, who had granted the Finnish Senate authority to establish an independent currency — the markka — in that same year. These were exploratory strikes, produced to evaluate scale and planchet specifications before the series entered full production.
KM#Pn1 is among the earliest physical artifacts of Finnish monetary autonomy under the Russian imperial framework.