OREANDA-NEWS. November 18, 2011. On October 25 a ceremonial presentation of the Russian silver commemorative coin issued for the occasion of the Year of Spain in Russia took place at the Exhibition Hall of Goznak.

It was decided to issue coins dedicated to the “crisscross” year both in Spain and in Russia. Representatives of the Bank of Russia, Goznak, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Moscow and the Royal Mint of Spain took part in the ceremony.

The honor was entitled to the First Deputy of Chairman of the Bank of Russia Georgy Luntovskiy and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Moscow Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena.

As Arkady Trachuk, General Director of Goznak noted, the issue of coins with the same design of one side (reverse) in two countries is a unique event for Russia.

Artists of two countries –people’s artist of Russia Alexander Baklanov (Design Center of Goznak) and Begona Castellanos (Royal Mint of Spain)made the coin not only a commemorative but also an artistic artifact. At the presentation of the Russian coin Alexander Baklanov said that the artists exchanged the sketches and models of the coin to be and introduced changes to each other’s work with care. It was during the coin creation that Alexander Baklanov found that the language of the Art helped people from different countries to understand each other. The artists of Russia and Spain intercommunicated a lot and understood each other very well in spite of the fact that each of them spoke his own language.

The Russian coin is issued in the number of 5 thousand pieces, which is not big for Russia, and promises to become a numismatic rarity. But, as Georgy Luntovskiy, the First Deputy of Chairman of the Bank of Russia, assured, the specialists of the Bank of Russia are working to provide the Russian Collectors with an opportunity to buy not only the Russian coin, but also the Spanish one dedicated to the “crisscross” year of Spain and Russia.

On the obverse side of the Russian coin, in a circle framed with a ring, the relief image of the emblem of the Bank of Russia is located – a double-headed eagle with the drooping wings; below it there is an semi-circular inscription “THE BANK OF RUSSIA”. There are also inscriptions separated with dots around the circle – the coin face-value – “THREE ROUBLES” and the minting year – “2011”; between them there are the metal classification according to the Periodic chart by D. Mendeleev, the standard of alloy, the trademark of the Saint-Petersburg Mint and the weight of the precious metal in purity. 

On the reverse side of the coin, just like on the coin issued in Spain, there are relief images of Don Quixote and a ballet-dancer against the background of landscapes. On top there is an inscription “THE YEAR OF SPAIN IN RUSSIA” around the circle. The coin diameter is 39 mm. The weight of the precious metal in purity is 31.1 g.

The coin is struck of sterling silver at the Saint-Petersburg Mint – Branch of Goznak.