Russian Medals: Peter the Great of Russia

From February 9th to 11th, 2016, Kunkka Auction House, for the first time, will conduct its 272nd auction as an e-live premium auction, which will include a series of Russian medals. We would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the first series of medals Peter the Great commissioned. On June 9th, 1672, the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich gave birth to his 14th child. Not really something to commemorate with a medal, but nonetheless, a medal of the birth of Peter exists. On the obverse, the proud parents are depicted. The reverse shows an angel, who hands over the baby to the allegory of Russia. Above, it reads, Space Magna Futui, hope for a great future. How could the die-cutter know that Peter, indeed, would have a great future? Well, it's quite easy. This medal was commissioned long after Peter's death by Catherine II. Because of her, till today, there are so many commemorations of Peter I. In the following, we will tell you why so many medals of Peter I have survived. Of course, Peter the Great was the first Russian Tsar who celebrated his rule systematically with medals, and that he copied from Europe. On his first voyage throughout Europe, he saw the complete medals series of 276 pieces commissioned by Louis XIV. Peter wanted something like that, too. In 1712, he commissioned the Augsburg-based medalist, Philipp Heinrich Müller, to create a medals series about the Great Nordic War. We are looking at one of the pieces. It depicts Peter's siege of Narva. It's a realistic representation. You see, Müller received detailed plans from the court, as well as etchings and other material, to use for his sketches. Here, as a motive, he chose a critical point during the siege. The Russian mortar vessels are firing non-stop on the city. The obverse depicts the image of Peter I and reads, Peter, son of Alexander, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Russians and Grand Prince of Moscow. By choosing the title of Emperor, Peter claimed to be on equal terms with major European rulers. Even though Müller never met Peter I personally, the portrait is true to life. For a model, he used a cast medallion, which, together with some etchings, had reached Augsburg. This medal, commemorating the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703, became very famous. The new capital was built on the mouth of the river Nua, where it flows into the Gulf of Finland, which finally gave Russia the long-desired connection of its waterways to the Baltic Sea. The reverse depicts the fortress of Peter and Paul, towered by Minerva and Mercury. Both are holding a medallion displaying the portrait of the founder of the city. Mercury represents the commercial aspects of the harbour, while the central tower of the Kronstrasse fortress, held by Minerva, points out that Petersburg and its surrounding fortresses were also built to protect the Nua inlet. On this medal, we see the same tower, more detailed and bigger. This piece commemorates the great victory of the Russians against Charles XII at Poltava. With this victory, Peter the Great turned the Nordic War in his favour. On the obverse, we see him riding on the battlefield in full armour. On the reverse, we can see Hercules, his club above his shoulder, standing on Swedish weapons. A map of the Russian camp serves as a background depiction. A very beautiful invention of Müller is Hercules on his knees, carrying a globe on his shoulders. It displays a map of Livland, where the locations of Narva, Reval, Dorpot, Pernau, Riga and Ahrensberg are charted. In 1716, Müller delivered all 28 dyes. Peter had the Moscow mint produce multiple metal series in silver and gold. When he went to Paris in 1717, he took a few with him as gifts. This medal, designed by Jean du Vivier, commemorates his visit to the Paris mint. On the obverse, it shows a grand portrait of the ruler. On the reverse, the winged fame announces with her two trumpets the glory of the monarch. This medal is something very special. It was issued to honour the Russian admiral, Fyodor Apraksin. In 1708, he successfully warded off an attack on St. Petersburg by the Swedish navy. His medal belongs to the earliest Russian medals depicting persons. No wonder, Apraksin was not only an admiral, but also director of the Moscow mint. He ordered his staff, of course, under explicit orders by the Tsar, to produce this medal. Solomon Gouin, who was responsible for the obverse, came from the Netherlands. Gottfried Haupt, a German, cut the reverse. All these medals we have shown to you were very popular among Russian collectors. For centuries, again and again, they asked for restrikes of the medals, till finally the dyes were so worn that they did not work anymore in any way. And then Catherine II came, a Tsarina, who did not inherit the throne, but ascended to it by a coup d'etat. To make this be forgotten, she emphasized Peter the Great in any way she could and staged herself as his heir. After all, Peter crowned his own wife Catherine I as heir of the throne, even though she did not have any claims to do so. A fact which Catherine II had her dye-cutter Johann Georg Wächter note in the medal. It was also Catherine II who had built the gorgeous monument, which would enter the memory of mankind as the Bronze Horseman. And, of course, a medal was produced for this occasion. Last but not least, Catherine ordered her dye-cutters Timofei Ivanov and Simolya Yudin to recut dyes of original medals from Müller, with which one could restrike medals and deliver them to interested collectors all over the world. That is why, for example, we read TI for Timofei Ivanov and not PHM for Philipp Heinrich Müller on the section of the arm on this medal. All medals which we offer to you are restrikes, and in most cases not even produced under Catherine II, but made from the new dyes by Ivanov and Yudins in the 19th century. It is Catherine the Great and avid collectors, who Peter the Great can thank, that so many medals commemorating his glorious achievement are still preserved. Now, several of them are waiting to be part of a new collection and proclaim Peter's fame. We, Kunkka Auction House, thank you very much for your attention. We would be delighted if you take part at our eLive Premium Auction 272 online. It will take place from February 9th to 11th, 2016. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.