Ninety percent of coins in the collection of the Lipetsk Regional Museum of Local Lore originated from treasures discovered at various times. However, there are also individual coins that were donated to the museum by Lipetsk residents. One such coin is a silver ruble produced in 1913 to commemorate the Tercentenary of the House of Romanov.
In 1834, the first commemorative coin appeared, dedicated to the installation of the Alexander Column on Palace Square in St. Petersburg. In the 1820s and 1830s, the design of coins was revised twice, and the image of the state emblem was changed. Under Emperor Alexander III, the image of the monarch returned to silver coins.
The Tercentenary of the House of Romanov was celebrated throughout 1913. It was described as an event that was celebrated festively by all people of the Russian Empire. The year 1913 was seen as the “peak of the prosperity of the Empire and the year of the Great Anniversary”. The 300th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Mikhail Feodorovich, the first tsar of the House of Romanov, was celebrated on February 21 (March 6, New Style), 1913. The celebrations were held throughout the Russian Empire. Amnesties were granted for some prisoners, and some debts were forgiven. Military parades were held in every city, buildings in central squares were decorated with portraits of emperors, balls and folk festivals took place. In terms of scale, it was one of the most grandiose events in Russian history. To mark the Romanov Tercentenary, commemorative awards, publications, jewelry, stamps, and coins were produced. A silver one-ruble coin was also minted in honor of the event at the St. Petersburg Mint with a mintage of 1.5 million. The coin’s official description was approved by the emperor on February 15, 1913.
The coin from the museum collection was minted using a convex die. On the obverse, there are two chest-length images: in the foreground, Emperor Nicholas II is depicted in the uniform of the Life Guard of the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Family, and in the background, Mikhail Feodorovich, the first tsar of the House of Romanov, is shown wearing ceremonial royal attire — a shoulder mantle and Monomakh’s Cap. On the reverse, in the center, there is an image of the small state emblem of the Russian Empire adopted in 1883. This is a double-headed eagle holding a scepter and an orb, accompanied by an inscription indicating the denomination “Ruble” and the years “1613–1913”.
