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Poltina - Nikolai I
| Issuer | Imperial Russian Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1826-1831 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Poltina (1 Полти́на) (0.5) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Cyrillic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a purely typographic design in a neoclassical style, with four lines of Cyrillic text in the field declaring the fine silver content of the coin: ЧИСТАГО СЕРЕБРА 2 ЗОЛОТН. 10½ ДОЛЕЙ, meaning 'pure silver 2 zolotniks 10½ dolyas.' The mint mark С.П.Б. (Saint Petersburg) appears below a horizontal rule at the base of the inscription. The entire field is encircled by a wreath composed of laurel on the left and oak on the right, tied at the base with a ribbon bow, and surmounted at the apex by the Imperial crown. A toothed rim borders the coin's periphery. |
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| Additional information |
Nicholas I came to the throne under fire — literally. The Decembrist Uprising broke out on the very day he was to be formally proclaimed emperor, December 26, 1825, and the new tsar spent his first hours of rule ordering artillery to disperse reformist officers in Senate Square. The poltina series issued under his reign carries that political urgency in its timing: monetary reforms were pressed forward as part of a broader program to reassert state authority following the chaos of the succession crisis.
The .868 fineness was a deliberate holdover from earlier Alexandrine-era standards, resisted by Finance Minister Kankrin until his own reforms finally rationalized Russian silver coinage in the 1830s.