The Icon of the Mother of God of Smolensk (Hodegetria) is among the oldest and most venerated Marian images in Orthodox tradition, with the Smolensk copy credited with protecting the city during Napoleon's 1812 campaign — the icon was carried through the Russian ranks at Borodino before the battle. Belarus issued several coins in this devotional series across the 2010s, drawing on the deep Orthodox heritage shared across the post-Soviet Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian cultural sphere.
At 5 g of .999 gold, the striking was contracted to a high standard, though mintage figures for this specific reference remain unpublished in major Western catalogues.
The Icon of the Mother of God of Smolensk (Hodegetria) is among the oldest and most venerated Marian images in Orthodox tradition, with the Smolensk copy credited with protecting the city during Napoleon's 1812 campaign — the icon was carried through the Russian ranks at Borodino before the battle. Belarus issued several coins in this devotional series across the 2010s, drawing on the deep Orthodox heritage shared across the post-Soviet Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian cultural sphere.
At 5 g of .999 gold, the striking was contracted to a high standard, though mintage figures for this specific reference remain unpublished in major Western catalogues.