RUSSIA. 10 Zolotniks (Affinage Ingot), ND (ca. 1885)-AA. St. Petersburg Mint. Alexander III. PCGS MS-61 Gold Shield.KM-4 (Nicholas II); Bit-258. A pleasing late 19th-century issue struck to repay the owners of gold mines who had supplied precious metals to the mint. Though graded as only an MS-61, the present specimen, in the opinion of this cataloger, is rather conservatively certified, as it features brilliant cartwheel luster with an enchanting hint of peripheral gold, along with only lightly scattered bag marks. A type rarely, if ever, encountered so dazzling. For comparison, an NGC MS-61, featuring rub, numerous contact marks and scuffs, and no real luster, realized a hammer of $700 in 2017. Despite their equivalent grades, it can easily be seen that the present specimen is magnitudes better than its next closest rival. Worthy of an elite bid from the connoisseur of later Russian or interesting crown-sized issues.
