Today's highlight coin is an incredible rarity from the reign of Russian emperor Paul I, a visually appealing Novodel Ruble designed by Carl Leberecht (with his initials on the truncation). Paul I was the son of Empress Catherine II the Great though he never earned her favor or blessing to succeed her. Catherine intended her grandson (who would later become Emperor Alexander I) to succeed her as she distrusted her son politically. However she was unable to formally announce this before she died of a stroke. Paul was aware of this sentiment as most of his life he stayed at his various estates and away from her court. In response to his near miss of succession to the throne, one of the major changes he enacted after becoming emperor was a revamping of the laws of succession, changing it from a system where the ruling Emperor or Empress could choose their successor to a strict primogeniture system.

This type is referred to as the "Portrait Ruble" in contemporary documents. The coin features a portrait of Emperor Paul I wearing a uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment with a diagonal sash of the Order of Saint Andrew and Cross of Saint Anne at the throat. With subsequent production coinage lacking a portrait, this piece represents one of the few examples extant displaying the Czar, and in what is considered to be a very well executed portrait that was approved by Paul I himself. The reverse displays Paul's monogram in cruciform around the heraldic Imperial double headed eagle within a circle. Dark intense tone uniformly covers the surface, with limited silver color showing through along the highest points. Seldom offered and always of the greatest interest.

Look for this and other world numismatic rarities in our upcoming January New York International Auction.

To read the complete article, see:
Very Rare Russia 1796 Paul I Novodel Ruble (www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780/ArtMID/
2678/ArticleID/65497/Very-Rare-Russia-1796-Paul-I-Novodel-Ruble.aspx)