Sale: Triton XI, Lot: 1553. Estimate $3000.  Closing Date: Monday, 7 January 2008.  Sold For $32500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

RUSSIA, Tsars of Russia. Ekaterina I Alexeyevna. 1725-1727. AR Rouble (28.31 g, 12h). Sankt-Peterburg (St. Petersburg) mint. Dated 1727. EKATEPIHA IMПEPATPIЦA ICAMOДEPЖEЦA BCEPOC, crowned and draped bust right / MOHETA (mullet) HOBAЯ (mullet) ЦEHA (mullet) P(OУ)БЛЬ (mullet) 1727, crowned double-headed imperial eagle facing with wings displayed, holding scepter and orb; above, imperial crown; CП Б flanking tail. On edge: grained left. Bitkin 168; cf. Severin 874; Uzdenikov 666. NGC photo graded AU 53, moderate gray-blue patina graces the lovely unimpaired surfaces of this rouble. Ranks among the finest known.

Purchased from M. L. Teller, May 1989.

The three Ekaterina roubles presented in this collection are the finest seen in many years. Ekaterina was the first empress to rule the Russian Empire, and she was Petr I’s constant companion both in and out of wedlock. She died only three years after Peter, and her coinage is rare, especially in fine quality.