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|  Catherine
was the wife of Czar Peter III, who was forced to hand
over the throne to her. Catherine,
a German princess from the small principality of Anhalt-Zerbst,
was one of Russia’s greatest rulers. Her victorious
wars against the Turks brought the Crimea and the Black
Sea coast to Russia. She was the first to consult the population,
at least in part, in the legislative commission of 1767.
Catherine reorganized Russian local government and issued
a charter of rights to the nobility. During her reign Enlightenment
thought and culture reached their apogee in Russia, a process
she personally encouraged. Her participation in the partitions
of Poland brought most of the Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania
into the Russian empire, ensuring Russia’s role as
a major power.
Catherine
had inherited Shuvalov’s plan to double
the face value of the existing copper coinage and to reduce
the fineness of the silver coinage. She firmly rejected
the devaluation of the copper coinage and had Peter III’s
already overstruck coppers overstruck again to restore
them to their original value. |
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1762 silver ruble, depicting
the young Catherine. Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.288
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1762
silver ruble, showing the both sides.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.287 |
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5
kopeck coin, minted in 1786, portraying a crown and
the letter E, the first letter in Ekaterina (Russian
for Catherine).
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.284 |
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5
kopeck piece from 1788, showing the Romanov double-eagle.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
2001.87.283 |
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| Three
silver commemorative coins depicting various peace treaties: |
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The
first piece portrays a peace signed with the Ottoman Empire
in 1774.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.338
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The
second coin celebrates peace with the Turkish Porte in
1791
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.339 |
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The
third coin commemorates a peace treaty with Sweden
in 1790.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
2001.87.337 |
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2
kopeck piece from 1795 which shows a recurring motif – a
rider with lance pointed downward, this time shown trampling
a dragon.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
2001.87.285 |
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A grivennik from 1783. A
grivennik equaled ten kopecks.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Rev. William H. Owen
2001.87.289 |
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A
ten kopeck coin of 1774 from Siberia. Note the inscription
in Cyrillic “Moneta
sibirskaia”.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
2001.87.282 |
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A polushka, 1/4 kopeck, minted
in 1789.
Collection of Coins and Medals
Yale University Art Gallery
Gift of Eugene Schuyler
2001.87.286 |
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