The collection of the Ivanovo Museum of Local History named after Dmitry Burylin presents a coin commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nicholas I’s accession to the throne on September 12, 1835.

Russian Minister of Finance Yegor Kankrin ordered the head of the Mining and Salt Affairs Department Lieutenant-General Yegor Vasilyevich Karneyev (1773–1849) to produce as soon as possible a die for a one-and-a-half-ruble coin. The letter enclosed a sample Bavarian thaler with an image of the King of Bavaria and his family. This important order was entrusted to a young medalist of the Saint Petersburg Mint Pavel Petrovich Utkin.

Numismatists know this coin as the “Family Ruble” since both sides feature images of the royal family. The obverse is decorated with a portrait of the emperor. The center of the reverse depicts his wife, surrounded by profile reliefs of the children. The coin has two denominations: Russian (one and a half rubles) and Polish (10 zlotych). The die was created by Pavel Utkin. This coin is distinguished by the fact that the portraits of the children of the imperial couple were encircled. The first issue was quite small — only thirty-six coins. Having examined several coins from all sides, the emperor said emotionally,

But this was not the end of the story for this coin. In 1836, the “Family Ruble” was issued again, but this time the date was changed and the circles around the portraits of the children disappeared.