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

Russia

Alexei (1645-1676)

Lot 5050
RUSSIA. Jefimok, 1655. Alexei Michailovitch, 1645-1676. Rider and date counterstamps on Switzerland-St. Gallen 162(-) Bear Taler. Rare. Fine.
Estimated Value $1,000-UP.

Fyodor II (1676-1682)

Lot 5051
RUSSIA. Medal, 1698. Bronze. 66 mm. by Samuel Judin. Tire-7; I-IX/1. Destruction of the mutinous Streltzy. Laureate bust of Peter I right. Reverse: Hercules with a club on shoulder, burning the slain Hydra with a torch. Choice About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $250-300.

Peter I, the Great

A giant of a man in every way, Peter stood almost seven feet tall, was powerfully built, evidently possessed boundless energy and physical strength, and is remembered for his countless talents and as the great reformer of early Russia. He was in every way a Renaissance man. His rule was one of the longest in his nation's history. Only ten years old when his father died, a mere boy, Peter at first shared the throne with his half-brother, Ivan, but when Ivan died prematurely in 1696, Peter became the titular sovereign of Muscovy. Under the regency of his mother, who brought many Romanov relatives into government at this time, Peter devoted his time to learning and to honing the talents which later gained him fame and power. He also had a strong-willed half-sister, Sophia, who was politically clever and threatened to become Empress until she was finally overwhelmed by Peter's towering personality and was banished to a convent. Thus did Peter assume total control of the state at the age of twenty-two. His accomplishments are legendary. Blessed with an amazing ability to learn, he took charge of numerous state matters, became an accomplished military and naval commander, mastered more than twenty trades (from shipbuilder to shoemaker to dentist), traveled throughout Muscovy, went to the West on two occasions to pursue knowledge, instituted the Christian calendar throughout Russia, gained an iron will and dedication to work that flustered all around him, and could be violently temperamental (especially with those who failed to live up to his own standards), overtly crude, and even cruel. He personally executed traitors, pulled the teeth of friends at court, was alternately blasphemous and amorous in the extreme, and drank liquor with the most hardened soldier, also to excess. Yet, with all this, he never became known as paranoid or megalomaniac. War, of course, was almost constant in the Russia of his day. Peter devised war games, fought Turkey as well as Sweden in the Great Northern War, which finally gave Russia ice-free ports for its navy. Peter established the famous dockyards of Archangel as well as, in 1703, the city of St. Petersburg. In 1708, he put down a cossack rebellion of major proportions which had spread throughout southern Russia. And finally the Swedish army, one of the most feared in all Europe, was destroyed in 1709's Battle of Poltava, one of the most decisive in history, where Peter himself led his troops into battle and luckily escaped injury. The victory gave the Baltic to Russia, was the reason his parliament declared Peter "The Great," and established Russia as a major power. The constant warfare, though, left the state ever in need of money, and Peter demanded that the masses pay to protect their nation. He taxed almost everything imaginable, from beehives to beards, earning much hatred from many subjects. Nor did he gain much love from his son, busy as he was modernizing Russian government, military might, personal behavior and learning. At the end, worn out by his lifestyle, he died in February 1725, losing consciousness just moments before naming his own heir to the throne of Russia under the new law of succession that he himself had declared. Peter brought permanent change to his beloved country, which he Westernized in a matter of decades into a mighty European power.

Lot 5052
RUSSIA. Medal, 1698. Bronze, 66 mm, by Samuel Judin. Tiregale-7; Iver-IX/1. Destruction of the mutinous Streltzy. Laureate bust of Peter I right. Reverse: Hercules with club on shoulder, burning the slain Hydra with a torch. Choice Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $250-300.

Lot 5053
RUSSIA. ½ Ruble, 1702. Sev-60. Peter I. Extremely Rare. Remarkably, this rarity is without blemishes. Nicely centered and well struck. Pleasing light gray surfaces. The curious portrait has a modernistic quality to it. A great Peter for the advanced collector! NGC graded VF-30.
Estimated Value $4,000-UP.

Lot 5054
RUSSIA. Novodel Polupoltinnik (¼ Ruble), 1702. Sev-53; Uzd-431. Peter I. Rare. Elegant two-tone dark and medium gray toning. No distracting abrasions. Very pleasing indeed. NGC graded EF-45.
Estimated Value $750-1,000.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 117.

Lot 5055
RUSSIA. Medal, 1702. Tiregale-11; Smirnov-165. Bronze. 46 mm, by T. Ivanov. Peter I. Capture of Schlusselburg (Notteburg). Armored bust right. Reverse: Fortress burning during bombardment. Wonderful mahogany-brown color, struck in high relief. Choice Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $100-125.

Lot 5056
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1704. Dav-1642; Sev-147. Peter I. Evidence of striking over another coin. First dated ruble. Bright silvery gray toning, darker around the obverse legend, making it stand out. The eagle is beautifully detailed for the grade. A huge diebreak on the left obverse field. Very pleasing and obviously historic in this wonderful series. NGC graded EF-40.
Estimated Value $1,500-2,000.

Lot 5057
RUSSIA. Grivennik (10 Kopecks), 1704-M. Sev-91; KM-120.1. Peter I. Slight flan bend. Nice grade for issue. Extremely Fine.
Estimated Value $350-450.

Lot 5058
RUSSIA. Altyn, 1704. Sev-80. Peter I. Large flan. Choice Very Fine.
Estimated Value $75-100.

Lot 5059
RUSSIA. Altyn, 1704. Sev-80. Peter I. Very Fine.
Estimated Value $75-100.

Lot 5060
RUSSIA. Altyn, 1704. Sev-80. Peter I. About Very Fine.
Estimated Value $50-75.

Lot 5061
RUSSIA. Altyn, 1704. Sev-80. Peter I. About Very Fine.
Estimated Value $50-75.

Lot 5062
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1705. MD. Dav-1642; Sev-177var. Peter I. Scratch in obverse field. Toned to a medium gray. Nicely centered. NGC graded EF-40.
Estimated Value $1,200-1,500.

Lot 5063
RUSSIA. Poltina (½ Ruble), 1705 5 over 4. Sev-161. Peter I. Cyrillic date. Toned. NGC graded VF-35.
Estimated Value $750-1,000.

Lot 5064
RUSSIA. Poltina, 1705. Sev-161; KM-106.1. Peter I. Two-tone gray surfaces, pleasing for the grade. Very Fine.
Estimated Value $200-250.

Lot 5065
RUSSIA. Polupoltinnik (¼ Ruble), 1705. Sev-156; KM-112.1. Small bust of Peter I right. Reverse: Thin eagle. Cleaned. Very Fine.
Estimated Value $400-500.

Beard Tokens

Now an academician, now a hero, Now a seafarer, now a carpenter, He, with an all-encompassing soul, Was on the throne an eternal worker. -Pushkin Pushkin's eulogy, like an equestrian statue, alludes to a key event in the life of the most dominant force in Russian history, Peter The Great. A year after becoming Tsar of Russia, Peter traveled to Europe with the goal of strengthening foreign alliances and mining the secrets of Western technology. He moved abroad disguised as a carpenter, and took in with greedy astonishment the technical and cultural splendors of Western Europe. He was especially entranced by Holland, which had built the magnificent city of Amsterdam, then the capital of the world, on a swamp. Peter came back from Europe with a new vision for Russia. Already impressed by Western technology, he returned with a passion for Western culture. Peter had also come back with a new, clean-shaven look and was dismayed by the appearance of the nobles of his court. He surveyed with distaste the long beards in which Russian men delighted as symbols of manhood and dedication to the church. To the beardless monarch, this facial hair seemed merely a sign of their lack of western cultural niceties. Calling for a pair of scissors he had acquired in Holland, Peter personally cut off the flowing beards of the stunned noblemen. He then decreed that, except for clergy and peasants, all men must shave. And to enforce his edict, he refused an audience to any man who sought his favor unless he was beardless. After church officials objected, he modified the ruling: A man could buy a license to wear a beard; he would be issued a special bronze medallion, and while wearing it, he could conduct business as usual. "The money has been paid," declares the inscription on these medallions, indicating that its wearer has paid a tax in order to keep his beard. These revenues helped Peter finance his wars as well as his reforms, which ushered Russia into the modern age.

Lot 5066
RUSSIA. Beard Token, 1705. B-4. Novodel. Peter I. Deeply impressed, the surfaces a delightful chocolate brown, glossy and as lovely as can be. NGC graded AU-58.
Estimated Value $600-800.

Lot 5067
RUSSIA. Beard Token (Kopeck), 1705. B-5. Peter I. Novodel. With eagle countermark. Slight porosity, flan a bit uneven. Glossy brown with hints of red. About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $750-1,000.

Lot 5068
RUSSIA. Novodel Beard Token (Kopeck), 1705. B-5. Peter I. With eagle countermark in a circle to left of beard. Most pleasing chocolate-brown with some ancient verdigris and slightly off center. A marvelous example of this most curious and charming, rare token. Choice About Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $600-800.

Choice 1707 Ruble

Lot 5069
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1707. Arabic date. Dav-1645; Sev 232. Original. Peter I. Superb strike and considerable luster. NGC graded AU-53.
Estimated Value $3,500-UP.

Lot 5070
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1707 (Cyrillic date). Dav-1645; Sev-230; Uzd-492. Peter I. Light to medium gray, remarkably free from major blemishes for a large silver coin of this age. NGC graded EF-40.
Estimated Value $1,500-2,000.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 63.

Lot 5071
RUSSIA. Ruble, 1707 (Cyrillic date). Dav-1645; Sev-230. Peter I. NGC graded VF-25.
Estimated Value $1,500-2,000.

Lot 5072
RUSSIA. Poltina (½ Ruble), 1707. Sev-227. Peter I. Toned to a golden gray, no bruises, unusually sensitive portrait of Peter. NGC graded VF-30.
Estimated Value $400-600.

Lot 5073
RUSSIA. Kopeck, 1707. 'K. B-176. Variety with large flan. Peter I. The numerical grade here is meaningless. This is a choice coin, made from crude dies and crudely struck as well. Both sides decently centered. Chocolate brown with hints of red, believe it or not. For this issue, a Gem!. NGC graded MS-62 BN.
Estimated Value $250-350.

Lot 5074
RUSSIA. Novodel Tynf (¼ Ruble), 1708-IL-L. Sev-244; Uzd-4792. Struck on heavy 10.2 gram planchet. Peter I. Despite the light wear, this is a wonderful coin. Hard luster. Steel gray with tawny golden hues, very few abrasions, and a detailed portrait of the Czar--his moustache and eyebrows, curly locks and dimpled chin, eye and nose all crisply detailed. The rim a bit unevenly struck. NGC graded AU-55.
Estimated Value $1,000-1,250.
Ex Irving Goodman Sale, Feb 1991, Lot 129.