Nicholas II gold Specimen 1/2 Imperial of 5 Roubles 1895-AГ SP62 PCGS, St. Petersburg mint, KM-Pn142, Sev-548 (Excessively Rare, RRRR), Bit-320 (R3). Reported mintage 36 pieces. Obv. Bare head of Nicholas left. Rev. Crowned imperial double eagle facing, holding scepter and orb in talons; crown above, large coat-of-arms on breast, and smaller coats-of-arms on wings. A breathtaking Specimen of historical importance and one of the true rarities of the later Russian imperial series, listed in Bitkin as a "donative". With a denomination of a '1/2 Imperial' of 5 Roubles and the equivalent weight of the current 7 Roubles 50 Kopecks piece, this impressive treasure faces up with fully brilliant, reflective surfaces, amply frosted motifs and sunny yellow-gold appearance. A celebrated occasion to witness in this exalted quality, as the present offering is tied with one other in the PCGS census as the sole graded Specimen examples. NGC treats these as business strikes and lists three MS and one MS Deep Prooflike in their graded population, the latter an MS62 and none finer extant. A quick look at the publicly auctioned pieces unsurprisingly reveals an absolute dearth of availability to commerce, as the previous sale was also by Heritage when we handled the other PCGS graded piece in our January 2018 New York auction realizing $156,000. Undoubtedly a candidate for a singular trophy piece to an elite cabinet of Russian coinage, and one that we anticipate will be fiercely contested as an unmissable opportunity. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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