The numismatic collection of the Ivanovo Museum of Local History is rich and diverse thanks to the versatile interests of its founder Dmitry Gennadievich Burylin. The “Golden Room” of the museum presents a gold five-ruble coin from the times of Emperor Paul I.
The period of the reign of Emperor Paul I received mixed reviews from researchers. Among the many transformations carried out at that time was the monetary reform. Under Paul I, the appearance of Russian coins changed significantly. The coins no longer featured the portrait of the emperor on the obverse. Instead, there was a monogram in the form of a cross made up of four Russian letters “П”, topped with crowns. The design of the reverse of these coins was inspired by Dutch gold ducats. The reverse has the famous motto of the Templars “Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam” (Not to us, O Lord, but to your name from ‘glory) enclosed in a quadrangular cartouche. The milling is cord-shaped, and the reeding is grooved to the right.
Paul I changed the metal fineness of five-ruble coins, so they became similar to European ducats and could be legally circulated outside Russia. The coin-making technique was quite simple. In preparation for minting, gold bars were first flattened by hammering and then repeatedly passed through the rolling mill to reduce them to strips of the required thickness. In total, during the reign of Emperor Paul I, the coinage exceeded 400,000 pieces in 1798, 1799, 1800, and 1801. The coins of 1798 and 1799 were produced at the Saint Petersburg Mint, while those of 1800 and 1801 were made by the new Bank Mint, established in 1797. In the year 1801, 180,000 pieces were minted. The nine mints that existed earlier were abolished. The State Treasury was established in December of 1796.
The reforms of Paul I were not destined to be implemented. His life was cut short on the night of March 12, 1801, as a result of a conspiracy. Under Emperor Alexander I — Paul’s successor — the design of the coin was changed but the fineness remained the same. Five-ruble gold coins minted during the reign of Emperor Paul I are considered a numismatic rarity, since their circulation was small.
