25 Roubles Winter Olympics, Logo

Issued in anticipation of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, this copper-nickel piece belongs to a sprawling multi-year program the Central Bank launched to sustain public awareness — and generate collector revenue — across the full lead-up to the Games. Russia's hosting bid had been won in 2007, beating out Salzburg and Pyeongchang, and the numismatic program that followed was one of the most exhaustive Olympic coin series any host nation had produced, running to dozens of distinct issues across multiple denominations and metals.

The 25-rouble copper-nickel denomination was created specifically for this program — it had no prior circulation history in Russian coinage.