MEDALS， 中國 - 紀念章 ， Qing Dynasty 清朝 / Russia 俄羅斯 ， Nicholas II (1894-1917): Gold Medal， Construction of the Tunnel through the Grand Chingan in Manchuria 滿洲大興安嶺 ， 1903， by A Griliches Jnr， Obv Russia standing 3/4-right， one hand on a shield with the Imperial eagle， the other bracing the plans for the railway， six-line legend above， laurel branch and shield inscribed with the project’s vital dates to the right (“Begun 1901， Completed 1903” - the tunnel， though， would actually be completed in 1904)， signed ГРИЛИ X ЕСЪ СЫНЪ on the groundline， Rev in a central circle a train emerges from the tunnel， which is decorated with a Russian eagle and a Chinese Imperial dragon on either side and 興安嶺 (Chingan mountain range) at the centre， plan of the tunnel above， СООРУЖЕНЪ ОБЩЕСТВОМЪ КИТАЙСКОЙ ВОСТОЧНОЙ Ж。 Д。 СТРОИТЕЛЬ ТОННЕЛЯ ИНЖ。 П。 С。 Н。 Н。 БОЧАРОВЪ (Constructed by the East Chinese Railway Society， Tunnel Constructor Engineer N。 N。 Bocharov)， 78mm， 278。1g (Diakov 1385。1 (R5); Sm 1312)。
Extremely fine， obverse scratch and some minor contact marks， an extremely rare medal of interest to both Russian and Chinese collectors。 At the time of its completion， the Hingan Tunnel through the Great Chingan mountain range (Da Xing Gang Ling)， traversing 3，078 meters (21/2 miles)， was Russia’s longest railway tunnel。 Estimate: US$60，000-80，000
