10 Roubles The Astrakhan Region

Part of the long-running Russian Federation series honoring the country's administrative regions, this Astrakhan issue was released during a period of aggressive expansion in the program — 2008 saw more regional 10-rouble bimetallic releases than almost any prior year. Astrakhan's inclusion reflects its status as a federal subject of Russia since 1943, carved from the old Stalingrad region during wartime administrative reorganization.

Circulation strikes for regional issues of this type regularly reached into the tens of millions, keeping secondary market premiums negligible for uncirculated examples.