5 Roubles - Nikolai I

These issues span the final years of Nicholas I's reign, a period defined by the Crimean War's catastrophic drain on Russian state finances. The war, which began in 1853, forced the government to suspend gold convertibility and accelerated the collapse of the assignat monetary system that had already been under pressure since Kankrin's currency reforms of 1839. Gold coin disappeared from circulation almost immediately as hoarding set in.

The 1854 date is consequently the rarest within this range by a considerable margin — production was curtailed as bullion reserves were redirected toward war expenditure.