Part of the Bank of Russia's ongoing zodiac series, this piece was issued at a time when the Russian mint was aggressively expanding its bullion and collector programs following the 1998 ruble crisis — a period when hard-currency denominated commemoratives served partly as a confidence-building exercise for the central bank. Mintages for individual zodiac issues in this series were tightly controlled, typically in the range of 10,000 pieces, though precise figures vary by sign.
Part of the Bank of Russia's ongoing zodiac series, this piece was issued at a time when the Russian mint was aggressively expanding its bullion and collector programs following the 1998 ruble crisis — a period when hard-currency denominated commemoratives served partly as a confidence-building exercise for the central bank. Mintages for individual zodiac issues in this series were tightly controlled, typically in the range of 10,000 pieces, though precise figures vary by sign.