Lot 2810
Russia. Platinum Pattern 'Accession' Rouble, 1801. Alexander I,1801-1825. Edge plain. Diam. 38.6 mm. Weight 35 grams. Obverse: Czar with bare head and elongated neck facing right. Reverse: Crowned imperial double headed eagle with uplifted wings within detailed wreath of fruit, leaves, wheat etc. Initials M and P to left and right of eagle. One of only 2 pieces recently produced struck in platinum. Choice Brilliant Proof.
*Alexander was greatly influenced by Catherine the Great who brought him up and considered him her successor despite the fact that his father was heir to the Russian throne. He became Czar (after his father was murdered) during the chaotic period of the Napoleonic Wars and was crowned in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in September 1801.
The young Emperor was extremely popular among all levels of society and the first half of his reign was marked by liberal internal policies. His various reforms included a restructuring of the nation and an attempt to codify Russian legislation. Later however he reversed many of these changes.
Young Alexander sympathized with the French and Polish revolutionaries, but his father seemed to have taught him to combine a natural love of mankind with a coldly practical suspicion of individuals. It is said that Alexander was something of a political chameleon and his contradictory tendencies were apparent throughout his life.
The young Czar began to reform the outdated and centralized system of government that Russia relied upon. He retained for a time the old advisers and ministers who had served and then overthrown his father, but later appointed a committee (which comprised young enthusiastic friends of his own) to draw up plans for domestic reform which included provision for a constitutional monarchy. He established freedom for publishing houses, prohibited torture and reduced the activities of the intelligence services. The liberal Mikhail Speransky became a close adviser of Alexander, but his envisaged reforms were too ambitious for an overly conservative nation.
By 1812 Speransky had been ousted by his political rivals and Alexander, disillusioned by the limitations of what he could actually achieve, began a lurch towards a more authoritarian rule.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,400.
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