The June 4, 2000, Dr. Jon Kardatzke Collection Parts II & III, Sale 5

Russia

Alexander II (1855-1881)

Lot 5725
RUSSIA. Pattern 10 Kopecks, 1871 (Brussels). B-2; Sev-3808B. Copper-nickel. Alexander II. Bust of Alexander I right. Reverse: Value in curved line within wreath. A Gem with streaky pale golden toning.
Estimated Value $600-800.

Lot 5726
RUSSIA. Poltina, 1872-HI. SP'. Sev-3824; Y-24. Alexander II. Rare date, mintage of only 22,000 pieces. Light silvery gray toning, golden hues. NGC graded Proof 62.
Estimated Value $400-600.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1235.

Lot 5727
RUSSIA. Error 5 Kopecks, 1872-EM. Y-12.1. Struck 20% off center. Very Fine.
Estimated Value $50-100.

Lot 5728
RUSSIA. 5 Kopecks, 1873-EM. Y-12; B-240. Alexander II. Lightly cleaned, tannish brown. Proof.
Estimated Value $400-600.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1288.

Lot 5729
RUSSIA. Presentation Set of Medals, 1874. Forrer VI, p.482. Silver 77 mm by Charles Wiener. One struck in silver, the other in silvered bronze. Presentation set of medals commemorating the visit of Czar Alexander II to London in 1874. bust of Alexander II left in uniform. Reverse: Allegory of Alexander and London embraced by Peace. Very Rare. Housed in an embossed leather case. Case somewhat worn. Lot of 2 Medals. Nearly Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $400-600.

Lot 5730
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1875. HI-SP'. Dav-289; Sev-3849. About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $150-200.

Lot 5731
RUSSIA. Poltina (½ Ruble), 1875. HI-SP'. Sev-3848; Y-24. Alexander II. Scarce date. Brilliant and frosted with light golden toning. NGC graded Proof 62.
Estimated Value $200-250.

Lot 5732
RUSSIA. 5 Kopecks, 1875-E.M. B-242; Y-12. Fully red reverse showing light hairlines; lightly toned obverse. NGC graded Proof 63 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $100-150.

Lot 5733
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1876-HI. SP'. Dav-289; Sev-3860. Alexander II. Beautifully toned: tawny gold, evenly spread on both sides. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $1,000-UP.

Lot 5734
RUSSIA. Poltina, 1876-HI. SP'. Sev-3858: Y-24. Alexander II. Light olive-green and gold iridescent toning. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $500-UP.

Lot 5735
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1876-HI. SP'. Sev-3854: Y-23. Alexander II. Deep olive-gold toning. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $250-UP.

Lot 5736
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1877-HI. SP'. Dav-289; Sev-3876. Alexander II. Bright and frosty with splashes of amber-gold iridescence. NGC graded MS-63.
Estimated Value $200-250.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1173.

Lot 5737
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1877. NF-SP'. Sev-3871; Y-23. Alexander II. Prooflike fields with lovely golden green iridescent toning. NGC graded MS-63.
Estimated Value $150-200.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1270.

Lot 5738
RUSSIA. Medal, 1877. Bronze, 63 mm, by V. Alexiev, Smirnov-764. Commemorative of the centennial of the birth of Alexander I. Laureate bust right. Reverse: Five line legend within ornate border. Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $100-150.

Alexander III (1881-1894)

 When his father was killed by an assassin, the new Czar was already a mature man. He was strong in many ways-in body, in his mindset, in his appearance. Ultimately, though, history was against both him and his own son, who would die with the empire. Both were reactionaries, trying to stem the influence of ordinary thinking Russians, and neither could adapt to change. The last royal Alexander had to deal with a nation of diverse peoples of numerous religions, as well as a vast geography that now encompassed a Siberia with a swelling Russian-Asian population. His approach to all this was to curtail earlier reform measures and to lock in the old ways. The concept of participating in government had flowed into regionalism, and the Czar wanted to put a stop to this. He wanted to rule alone. Thus in the late summer of his first year on the throne he had issued a series of so-called Temporary Regulations, which in effect made Russia a police state. Search and arrest were immediately without check or balance for the state police. Imprisonment, quick trial, and exile became the Czar's means of protecting state security and public order, or so he thought. He court-martialed the remaining rebels who called themselves the Will of the People and treated them so harshly that, for a while, terrorism died out in Russia. The Czar clamped down on all his people, outlawing higher education for women, censuring university life, and imposing censorship throughout the land. It would be his undoing. Even in the absence of any overt threat, Alexander's Temporary Regulations were renewed in perpetuity, which struck fear into every Russian heart. His policy of Russification caused extreme discrimination and placed hardships on all but Orthodox Church members, anguished Polish and Ukrainian subjects, caused the first pogroms against the Jews, and in effect united these diverse subjects against their monarch. Behind the scenes, the new Intelligentsia were hard at work promulgating the idea of revolution and stirring up the aspirations of rebels who were interested in much more than intellectual change. Anger and desperation lurked beneath the surface of this outwardly still police state. In all walks of life, rebellion festered against the tyranny, for almost all the Czar's subjects were hard under his thumb. When Alexander died in 1894 from injuries he had sustained in an earlier rebel attempt to kill him, his eldest son inherited a ticking time bomb.

Lot 5739
RUSSIA. 5 Kopecks, 1881. SP'. B-249; Y-12. Reddish mauve and truly beautiful. The surfaces are superb and unspotted, with no visible hairlines, but there is a toning streak on the reverse--the only excuse for a 64-grade we can find. NGC graded Proof 64 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $300-400.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1293.

Lot 5740
RUSSIA. 3 Kopecks, 1882. SP'. B-54; Y-11.2. NGC graded Proof 64 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $75-100.

Lot 5741
RUSSIA. 2 Kopecks, 1882. SP'. B-41; Y-10.2. NGC graded Proof 65 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $100-150.

Lot 5742
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1883. Dav-291; Y-43. Alexander III on his coronation. Beautiful and delicate lilac-golden gray iridescence over gleaming, hard luster. High, broad rims give off a dished appearance. About as fine as these come. NGC graded MS-63.
Estimated Value $175-225.

Lot 5743
RUSSIA. Coronation Medal, 1883. Silver. 65 mm. by S.V. and A.A. Griliches, Smirnov-873a. Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna. Conjoined busts right. Reverse: Imperial eagle. Toned. Rare. About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $400-600.

Lot 5744
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1885. AG-SP'. Dav-289; Sev-3955. Alexander III. Scarce date. Brilliant Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $150-200.

Lot 5745
RUSSIA. 20 Kopecks, 1885. AG. Y-22a.1; Sev-3952. Alexander III. Pale golden gray, the devices frosted. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $200-300.

Lot 5746
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1886. AG. Sev-3961; Y-45. Alexander III. Scarce date. Intense luster with lovely light golden toning. NGC graded MS-64.
Estimated Value $300-400.

Lot 5747
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1886. AG. Y-45; Sev-3961. Alexander III. Only 2,058 pieces struck. Beautifully toned dark silvery gray with some deep golden hues. Scarce date. NGC graded MS-62.
Estimated Value $400-500.

Lot 5748
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1886. Sev-3960; Y-44. Alexander III. Mintage of only 4,058 pieces. Lovely light golden toning. NGC graded MS-65.
Estimated Value $300-400.

Lot 5749
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1887. AG. Y-45; Sev-3975. Alexander III. Very Rare. Two-tone elegant gray toning, some iridescent gold hues in the devices. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $1,500-UP.
Ex Virgil Brand Collection; Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1371.

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