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Ruble - Elizabeth
| Issuer | St. Petersburg Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1741 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Rouble (1 Рубль) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Empress Elizabeth I facing right, wearing an ermine mantle, with elaborately dressed hair. A circular Cyrillic legend surrounds the effigy, identifying the empress by her title and name. The portrait is executed in the broad-bust style characteristic of early Elizabethan coinage, with fine detailing in the drapery and mantle. The mint mark SPB (СПБ) for St. Petersburg appears within the legend. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Lettered |
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| Additional information |
Elizabeth's ruble of 1741 was struck in the immediate aftermath of a palace coup that deposed the infant Ivan VI — a coup she led personally, arriving at the Preobrazhensky Guards' barracks in the middle of the night to secure their loyalty before marching on the Winter Palace. The new coinage was politically urgent: Ivan's face had to disappear from circulation and Elizabeth's had to replace it, fast.
The .802 fineness reflects a silver standard inherited from Peter the Great's monetary reforms of the early 18th century, which Russia maintained with unusual consistency through successive reigns.