50 000 Roubles The Savings Business in Russia

Issued to mark the 170th anniversary of organized savings institutions in Russia, this is one of the largest gold coins ever produced by the Moscow Mint — and by extension among the heaviest legal-tender gold pieces struck by any major central bank in the modern era. At just over five kilograms of fine gold, production required specialized dies and handling infrastructure well outside routine mint operations.

The savings bank tradition it commemorates traces to 1841, when Nicholas I established the first state savings offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow by imperial decree.