The founding date of the Nevyansk plant is December 15, 1701. On this day the blast furnace was launched and produced the first cast iron. In 1901, a commemorative medal in the style of Kasli casting was manufactured to mark the plant’s 200th anniversary. Some of the medals were awarded to plant employees.

The construction of the Nevyansk plant began in March 1700. The Verkhoturye serviceman Mikhail Bibikov was appointed to supervise the construction. In 1701, he was replaced by the Moscow artisan Semyon Vikulin. In May 1701, a dam was built on the Neiva River. And in December, the plant was opened, and a report was sent to Emperor Peter I: 

Two hundred years later, the factory authorities prepared for the anniversary by cleaning the plant territory, as well as painting and repairing the workshop buildings. On December 15, 1901, Nevyansk residents and guests solemnly celebrated the 200th anniversary of the first cast iron produced in Nevyansk. There were a lot of people present at the prayer service. The chief director of the Ural Mining Plants, Pavel Petrovich Boklevsky, made a solemn speech.

For several days the post office was receiving telegrams with greetings from all over Russia. The Russian Finance Minister Sergey Yulyevich Witte sent a telegram wishing “success and prosperity to the Nevyansk plants and the entire Ural mining industry.”

The obverse of the commemorative medal features the profiles of the emperors who were on the throne in the year when Nevyansk was founded and in the year of its anniversary — Peter I and Nicholas II. Along the circumference is the name of the medal. On the reverse is an image of the Nevyansk plant: two blast furnace buildings and a leaning tower. Along the edge is a wreath consisting of oak and laurel branches. All inscriptions and images on the medal are in relief. The coin edge is plain.