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

Russia

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Lot 5750
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1887. AG. Sev-3974; Y-44. Alexander III. Pale golden toning. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $200-300.

Lot 5751
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1888. AG. Sev-3983; Y-45. Alexander III. Rare date. Toning a mix of silvery gray and light gold, the Czar's bust in frosted relief. NGC graded Proof 62.
Estimated Value $500-UP.

Lot 5752
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1889. AG. Sev-3990; Y-45. Alexander III. Extremely Rare date. Lovely golden iridescent toning, with the rims on both sides showing some bright blue color. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $2,000-UP.

Lot 5753
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1889. AG. Y-44; Sev-3989. Alexander III. Only 1,002 pieces struck. Extremely Rare date. Elegant gray toning, highly reflective fields. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $1,750-UP.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1407.

Lot 5754
RUSSIA. 15 Kopecks, 1889. AG. Sev-3987; Y-21a.2. Alexander III. Beautiful golden blue iridescence on the obverse, while the other side is mostly brilliant. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $200-250.

Lot 5755
RUSSIA. Medal, 1889. Smirnov-961. Bronze. 92 mm. By A. Griliches. 500th anniversary of Russian military use of artillery begun by Dimitri Donskoi in 1389. Bust of Alexander III facing left. Reverse: Legend in wreath of cannons. Choice About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $200-250.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, lot 1428.

Lot 5756
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1890. AG. Sev-3997; Y-45. Alexander III. Lovely iridescent golden blue toning. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $700-900.

Lot 5757
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1890. AG. Sev-3997; Y-44. Alexander III. Lovely light golden blue iridescent toning. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $200-300.

Lot 5758
RUSSIA. Kopeck, 1890. SP'. B-36; Y-9.2. NGC graded Proof 65 Brown.
Estimated Value $50-75.

Lot 5759
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1891. AG. Sev-4003; Y-44. Alexander III. Deep lavender-blue iridescent toning. Extremely Rare. NGC graded Proof 66.
Estimated Value $1,000-UP.

Lot 5760
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1891. AG. Sev-4003; Y-44. Alexander III. Sparkling mirrors and pleasing reddish mauve and blue iridescent toning. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $1,250-UP.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 1411.

Lot 5761
RUSSIA. 15 Kopecks, 1891. AG. Sev-4001. Elegant speckled silvery gray toning, with the devices frosted against the mirrors. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $125-175.

Lot 5762
RUSSIA. 2 Kopecks, 1891. SP'. B-50; Y-10.2. NGC graded Proof 64 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $75-100.

Lot 5763
RUSSIA. Polushka (¼ Kopeck), 1891. SP'. B-11; Y-29. NGC graded Proof 65 Brown.
Estimated Value $50-75.

Lot 5764
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1892. AG. Dav-292; Sev-4010; Y-46. Alexander III. Very Rare. Elegant lilac gray iridescent toning, with the mirrors sparkling through. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $2,000-3,000.

Lot 5765
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1892. AG. Sev-4008; Y-45. Alexander III. A Gem with frosted devices against deep mirrors, and lovely silvery gold iridescent toning. NGC graded Proof 65.
Estimated Value $700-900.

Lot 5766
RUSSIA. 2 Kopecks, 1893. SP'. B-52; Y-10.2. NGC graded Proof 63 Red and Brown.
Estimated Value $50-75.

Lot 5767
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1894. AG. Sev-4022; Dav-292; Y-46. Alexander III. Iridescent silvery golden blue atop highly reflective mirrored fields. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $1,200-1,500.

Lot 5768
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1894. Sev-4020; Y-44. Last year of Alexander III. Choice Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $200-250.

Lot 5769
RUSSIA. Medal, 1894. Bronze. 69 mm. by Briliches (Junior). Bust of Czar right. Reverse: Monument. Consecration of the Alexander II Monument. Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $100-150.

Lot 5770
RUSSIA. 24 Dolya (¼ Zolotnik) Mining Ingot, ND (c.1880-1900). Sev-4209. Alexander III. Very Rare. Bright silvery surfaces with a stain on the reverse rim. NGC graded MS-63.
Estimated Value $250-300.

Lot 5771
RUSSIA. Zolotnik Mining Ingot, ND (c.1880-1900). Sev-4208. Alexander III. Rare. Bright silvery gray surfaces, remarkably unblemished in the broad, open border and fields. NGC graded MS-62.
Estimated Value $250-300.

Nicholas II (1894-1917)

 The last autocratic ruler was a much gentler man than his father had been. Devoted to his family, and modest, he was probably viewed as remote, weak and narrow-minded by the revolutionaries. What Nicholas needed above all was vision-and a capacity to adapt and still be strong in the face of threat. He possessed none of this. International affairs tended to overshadow the ongoing persecution of the Czar's subjects, who continued to suffer the loss of religious and other personal freedoms. Censorship was everywhere. The Czar allowed his ministers more freedom than any other of his subjects. The brilliant minister of finance, Serge Witte, promoted heavy industry and the railroads, stabilized the economy by establishing a gold standard in 1897, and generally made Russia a respected international financial power. The humiliating Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 saw Japan bring Russia to its knees but unable to defeat its army. A negotiated peace opened the way for Japan's own imperial designs on Korea and China, and the war ended just as revolt at home reared its head. A famine in the early 1890s devastated the peasants. Capitalism gave a modicum of power to the bourgeoisie businessmen and a new working class, the proletariat-just enough to light a new fuse of dissatisfaction. These groups and the critical intellectuals stirred the Revolution of 1905, which consisted of widespread strikes, peasant uprisings, and unrest in the armed forces. Nicholas gave in to their demands, and his October Manifesto made Russia a constitutional monarchy. Religious tolerance and legislative reforms followed. But it was too little, too late. The seed had been planted. The first soviet (workers' council) arose in St. Petersburg during the revolt. Two political parties were born, the Socialist Revolutionary and the Social Democratic-the Marxists, who split into two groups. The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Ulianov, who called himself Lenin. They in particular fomented student protests and labor strikes. They would not rest with a constitutional monarchy. Old military alliances trundled Russia into the World War in 1914. Nationalistic sentiment strengthened, and Nicholas had a chance to rally his people behind him in the war effort. But he failed to act decisively or to regain regal prestige. While he immersed himself in military command, he unwisely retreated from affairs of state, leaving his wife, the German princess Alexandra, and her odd "visionary" companion, the peasant Rasputin, to govern. Alexandra was willful and hysterical. Rasputin was a madman who convinced the Empress that he could cure her son of his hemophilia and that he had been sent by God to protect her husband and to guide Russia to its destiny as an empire. The Marxists' orator, Trotsky, railed against this rottenness. Chaos reigned in Moscow, with Rasputin tossing out minister after minister in his own pursuit of power. At the end of December 1916, Rasputin was assassinated in a famous, gruesome act. Members of the Romanov family tried to come to the rescue by taking part in the plot, hoping to save the dynasty. A palace coup was rumored, but it never took place. Outright revolution came instead. Strikes and bread riots were not uncommon. One that began quietly in St. Petersburg on March 8, 1917, led to mutiny in the local army garrison. Four days later, the Imperial government collapsed. Nicholas II abdicated on March 15th in favor of his brother, Michael, who stepped down from the throne the next day. It was a quiet end for the Romanovs, but the war raged on and fury now controlled the state in the bodies of squabbling new politicians who headed hundreds of soviets from all over Russia. The war effort sagged, inflation became rampant, the economy ground to a halt. The strongest voice among the congress of soviets was that of Lenin, who threatened that his Bolsheviks would mount a second revolt, and in fact his Red troops staged the famous October Revolution in the wee hours of an autumn night by taking control of the garrison and storming the Winter Palace, where they arrested political opponents. Soviet government came to Russia

Lot 5772
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1895. AG. Y-58; Sev-4025. Nicholas II. Lovely iridescent toning. Rare. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $500-700.

Lot 5773
RUSSIA. 50 Kopecks, 1895-Ar. Sev-4025; Y-58.2. Toned. Choice About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $30-40.

Lot 5774
RUSSIA. 25 Kopecks, 1895. Sev-4024; Y-57. Nicholas II. Light golden toning. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $150-200.

More