Item number: A226

Year: AD 1899

Material: Gold

Size: 18.4 x 18.4 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 4.27 g

Manufactured by: St. Petersburg Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2015

This is a gold coin with a denomination of five roubles minted in AD 1899. The obverse side features a left-facing portrait of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. Surrounding the portrait are inscriptions in Old Russian script, “Б.М.НИКОЛАЙ II ИМПЕРАТОРЪ” and “И САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОСС,” which translate to “By the grace of God Nicholas II Emperor” and “Autocrat of All Russia” respectively. On the reverse side is the double-headed eagle emblem, symbolising the Romanov dynasty, with the denomination and year of production, “1899,” inscribed below.

The edge of the coin features a geometric pattern resembling inverted commas, along with the abbreviated name of Felix Zaleman, who was the director of the Saint Petersburg Mint at the time, indicated as “Ф.З”. During the reign of Nicholas II, domestically produced coins would bear the name of the mint director as a guarantee of quality. In the year AD 1899, both Yegor Babayan (Э.Б) and Felix Zaleman (Ф.З) served as directors of the Saint Petersburg Mint. Consequently, the five roubles gold coins minted in that year exist in two versions, bearing the initials “Э.Б” and “Ф.З” respectively.

In AD 1896, under the initiative of Sergei Witte, the Finance Minister of Russia at the time, Russia implemented the gold standard reform for the rouble, pegging it to the value of gold. To meet the demand for gold coins due to the public’s exchange of paper money for gold, Russian domestic mints focused on gold coin production. Consequently, the Russian government commissioned the mints in Paris and Brussels to mint silver coins, while the Birmingham Mint in England was tasked with minting copper coins. These foreign-minted coins were intended to supplement the production of Russian domestic mints.

However, with the outbreak of World War I, the highest decree on July 23, AD 1914, and the decree on July 27 of the same month abolished the convertibility of paper money into gold. By early AD 1915, gold coins had disappeared from circulation, and silver coins became the primary means of everyday exchange. It was only then that Saint Petersburg resumed its production lines and commissioned Japan, which had remained unaffected by the ravages of war, to assist in minting silver coins.

物件編號: A226

年代: 公元 1899 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 18.4 x 18.4 x 1.0 mm

重量: 4.27 g

製造地: 聖彼得堡造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2015

這是一枚公元1899年鑄造的五盧布面額金幣。硬幣正面是俄國末代沙皇尼古拉二世的左側肖像，肖像兩側以俄羅斯帝國的舊俄文鐫刻「Б.М.НИКОЛАЙ II ИМПЕРАТОРЪ」和「И САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОСС」，意思分別是「神明庇佑的尼古拉二世皇帝」和「全俄羅斯的獨裁者」頭銜。硬幣背面是象徵羅曼諾夫皇室的雙頭鷹國徽，下方則寫上面額和出廠年份「1899」字樣。

硬幣邊緣有類似上下引號的幾何圖案，和時任聖彼得堡造幣廠廠長，菲利克斯·扎勒曼的姓氏縮寫「Ф.З」。尼古拉二世時期，國內生產的硬幣會打印造幣廠廠長名字作為品質擔保。公元1899年該年度，埃利庫姆·巴巴揚茨(Э.Б)和菲利克斯·扎勒曼(Ф.З)先後擔任聖彼得堡造幣廠廠長。該年度鑄造的五盧布金幣，分別有「Э.Б」、「Ф.З」兩種版本。

公元1896年，時任俄羅斯財政大臣的維特推動盧布金本位改革，推行跟黃金等價的盧布紙幣。為應對民間以紙幣兌換黃金的需求，俄國國內鑄幣廠將主力投入金幣生產，故先後委託巴黎和布魯塞爾鑄造銀幣，英國伯明罕造幣廠則負責銅幣。

不過隨著一次世界大戰的爆發，公元1914年7月23日的最高法令與同月27日的法令廢除紙幣跟黃金的兌換。公元1915年初，金幣已經從市面上絕跡，銀幣又成為日常主要流通的硬幣。聖彼得堡方才重拾生產線和委託未受戰火波及的日本協助鑄造銀幣。