Lot 3752

Description

Alexander III, (1881 - 1894), 1894 dated Medal or ’Memorial Rouble’ comprising 50 medals or pattern roubles in golden alloy, 50 medals or pattern roubles in high grade copper and 50 in nickel silver, struck to a prooflike/proof finish in limited quantities, FDC. (150)

From a total mintage of only 975 pieces of each metal. The son of Alexander II, the new Czar and his wife, Maria Feodorovna, lived in Gatchina, the remote palace of his great grandfather Paul I. He was a large bluff man, and the assassination of his father was probably the chief reason for his ultra-cautious and reactionary attitude. He was an autocrat, but also a fierce patriot and a devoted family man. His main failing was that he left Russia mired in the past and failed to prepare his son for the challenges of the new century.