Specifications
- Denomination
- 5 roubles
- Series
- Nicholas II gold — imperial coinage
- Designer
- A. F. Vasyutinsky (portrait)
- Years of issue
- 1899
- Composition
- 90% Gold, 10% Copper
- Weight
- 4.3013 g
- Diameter
- 18.5 mm
- KM
- KM Y62
- Mintage
- 20400000
- Key mintages
- 20,400,000 (Heritage). 1898 figure: 52,378,000 (LastDodo).
Melt value: $540.79
Imperial Russia's gold workhorse — the Witte-reform five roubles that carried the last tsar's portrait into circulation by the millions.
History
- Between 1895 and 1898, Finance Minister Sergei Witte carried out a monetary reform that put Russia on the gold standard ‘after the European model’: paper money was made freely convertible into gold coin, and the gold content of the rouble was devalued — the coin’s nominal value rose one-and-a-half times while the weight of precious metal stayed the same (monetnik.ru, accessed 2026-09-16).
- In the reform’s first year of gold coinage the bulk of output was 15-rouble and 7-rouble-50-kopeck pieces; the 7.50 ruble matched common European gold coins at 900 fine, 6.45 g (5.8 g fine). Late in the year, striking of the 5-rouble piece began — 4.3 g (3.87 g fine) at the same 900 fineness (monetnik.ru, accessed 2026-09-16).
- The imperials and half-imperials (15 and 7.5 roubles) proved inconvenient in circulation and were discontinued in 1898; the series was completed by a 10-rouble piece at 8.6 g (7.74 g fine), and the 5 and 10 roubles of Nicholas II ‘became the foundation of gold monometallism,’ which lasted until the First World War (monetnik.ru, accessed 2026-09-16).
- The obverse is the portrait of Nicholas II facing left by A. F. Vasyutinsky — the medalist Numisview’s Nicholas II checklist credits with the 1895–1917 gold and silver portraits — ringed by the Cyrillic legend ‘Б.М. НИКОЛАЙ II ИМПЕРАТОРЪ И САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОСС.’ (‘By God’s Grace Nikolai II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia’) (numisview.com; Britannia Coin Company; APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
- The reverse shows the crowned double-headed imperial eagle holding orb and sceptre, with the denomination and date below — ‘5 РУБЛЕЙ 1899 Г.’ (Britannia Coin Company; APMEX; eBay item 227034962482, accessed 2026-09-16).
- All were struck at the Imperial Russian Mint in St. Petersburg with no mintmark; the edge carries the initials of the mintmaster — for 1899, ФЗ (Felix Zaleman, in office 1899–1901) and ЭБ (Elikum Babayants, also serving in 1899) (monetnik.ru; eBay item 227034962482; LastDodo, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Heritage records the 1899 5-roubles mintage at 20,400,000 — the second year of a type struck in enormous quantities (the 1898 issue is listed at 52,378,000 by LastDodo), which is why the coin trades as a bullion type in average circulated condition (Heritage Auctions lot 25091; LastDodo; APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
- The Nicholas II gold series ran 1897–1911 at St. Petersburg (APMEX’s type listing); the clean, simple design has kept the 5 roubles popular with world-gold collectors ever since (APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Technical profile: 4.3013 g at 900 fine (AGW 0.1245 oz), 18.5 mm diameter, patterned edge (Heritage Auctions; Britannia Coin Company; LastDodo, accessed 2026-09-16).
Key dates and varieties
- 1897 — first year of the Nicholas II 5-rouble type (APMEX)
- 1898 — 52,378,000 struck; the type’s largest issue (LastDodo)
- 1899 ФЗ — 20,400,000; Felix Zaleman mintmaster (Heritage; monetnik.ru)
- 1899 ЭБ — Elikum Babayants mintmaster, also struck in 1899 (monetnik.ru; Heritage lot 61394)
Specifications
- composition
- designers
- diameter
- edge
- weight
Collector notes
- A common date struck in the tens of millions — in average circulated condition this is a bullion-type coin that trades near melt; APMEX sells it as ‘Avg Circ’ stock (APMEX; Heritage).
- Verify the basics: 4.3013 g, 18.5 mm, non-magnetic 900-fine gold, patterned edge. An off-weight coin is a red flag.
- 1899 pieces carry mintmaster initials ФЗ or ЭБ on the edge — not on the faces, which bear no mintmark (monetnik.ru; eBay item 227034962482).
- Many surviving examples were cleaned — Heritage has certified numerous ‘cleaned’ or ‘details’ pieces, so original-surface coins carry a premium (Heritage Auctions).
- Because the coin is small and thin, edge and legend detail wear fast — sharp lettering and a clear mintmaster initial are the quality checks.
Market check
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