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Rouble - Alexander III Pattern
| Issuer | Saint Petersburg Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1886 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Truncated bare-headed effigy of Emperor Alexander III facing right, with a full beard and short hair, rendered in high relief in a naturalistic portrait style. The bust is unadorned and occupies the central field. A Cyrillic legend encircles the effigy along the periphery, separated from the rim by a continuous border of raised beads. The overall engraving reflects the refined academic style characteristic of the Saint Petersburg Mint in the 1880s. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Б.М. АЛЕКСАНДРЪ III ИМПЕРАТОРЪ И САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОССIЙСКIЙ * (Translation: By the grace of God Alexander III Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia) |
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| Additional information |
Bit#223 is one of several pattern roubles produced in 1886 as the St. Petersburg Mint evaluated competing portrait designs for Alexander III's definitive coinage. The tsar was notoriously difficult to satisfy on matters of his own likeness, and multiple engravers submitted proposals before Avenir Griliches secured the commission. Patterns from this evaluation survive in small numbers across a handful of institutional collections and a rare handful of private hands.
The .900 silver specification was already settled by this stage — the debate was purely aesthetic.