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THE 1796 PAUL I NOVODEL RUBLE
Cataloguer Chris Chatigny wrote about a very rare Russian ruble in a December 17, 2015 Stack's Bowers blog post. I've never seen
one of these! -Editor
Today’s highlight coin is an incredible rarity from the reign of Russian emperor Paul I, a visually appealing Novodel Ruble designed by Carl Leberecht (with his initials on the truncation). Paul I was the son of Empress Catherine II the Great though he never earned her favor or blessing to succeed her. Catherine intended her grandson (who would later become Emperor Alexander I) to succeed her as she distrusted her son politically. However she was unable to formally announce this before she died of a stroke. Paul was aware of this sentiment as most of his life he stayed at his various estates and away from her court. In response to his near miss of succession to the throne, one of the major changes he enacted after becoming emperor was a revamping of the laws of succession, changing it from a system where the ruling Emperor or Empress could choose their successor to a strict primogeniture system. This type is referred to as the “Portrait Ruble” in contemporary documents. The coin features a portrait of Emperor Paul I wearing a uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment with a diagonal sash of the Order of Saint Andrew and Cross of Saint Anne at the throat. With subsequent production coinage lacking a portrait, this piece represents one of the few examples extant displaying the Czar, and in what is considered to be a very well executed portrait that was approved by Paul I himself. The reverse displays Paul’s monogram in cruciform around the heraldic Imperial double headed eagle within a circle. Dark intense tone uniformly covers the surface, with limited silver color showing through along the highest points. Seldom offered and always of the greatest interest. Look for this and other world numismatic rarities in our upcoming January New York International Auction. To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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