Obverse. Photo © RARITETUS.ru
  • 3 Kopecks 1867-1917, Y# 11, Russia, Empire, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II
  • 3 Kopecks 1867-1917, Y# 11, Russia, Empire, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, Mint mark: Е.М. (Ekaterinburg Mint)
  • 3 Kopecks 1867-1917, Y# 11, Russia, Empire, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, Mint mark: С.П.Б. (Saint Petersburg Mint)
  • 3 Kopecks 1867-1917, Y# 11, Russia, Empire, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, No mint mark: Petrograd Mint
  • 3 Kopecks 1867-1917, Y# 11, Russia, Empire, Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, Edge
Description

This coin has been unchanged during the reigns of the following Russian Emperors:

Alexander II (1818-1881) was the Emperor of Russia from 1855 until his assassination in 1881. He was also the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Finland. Alexander was the most successful Russian reformer since Peter the Great. His most important achievement was the emancipation of serfs in 1861, for which he became known as Alexander the Liberator. In foreign policy, Alexander sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. Among his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate Constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia.

Alexander III (1845-1894) was the penultimate Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. During Alexander's reign Russia fought no major wars, for which he was styled "The Peacemaker". More than six feet tall (about 1.9 m), he was also noted for his immense physical strength.

Nicholas II (1868-1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and titular King of Poland. Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his forced abdication in 1917. His reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Under his rule, Russia was decisively defeated in the Russo-Japanese War. The Anglo-Russian Entente, designed to counter German attempts to gain influence in the Middle East, ended the Great Game between Russia and the United Kingdom. As head of state, Nicholas approved the Russian mobilization of August 1914, which marked the beginning of Russia's involvement in the First World War, a war in which 3.3 million Russians were killed. Nicholas II abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917 during which he and his family were imprisoned and executed in 1918.

Obverse

Depicts the lesser coat of arms of the Russian Empire surrounded by the inscriptions "Copper Russian coin" and "Three Kopecks".

The lesser coat of arms included a two-headed state eagle crowned with two imperial crowns, over which the same third crown, enlarged, with two flying ends of the ribbon of the Order of Saint Andrew. The state eagle held a scepter and globus cruciger. On the chest of the eagle there was an escutcheon with the arms of Moscow, depicting Saint George, mounted and defeating the dragon, with the addition of the collar of the Order of Saint Andrew around the escutcheon of St. George, and the arms of Astrakhan, Siberia, Georgia, Finland, Kiev-Vladimir-Novgorod, Taurica, Poland and Kazan on the wings (seen clockwise).

The globus cruciger (Latin, "cross-bearing orb"), also known as the orb and cross, an orb (Latin globus) topped (Latin gerere, to wear) by a cross (Latin crux), has been a Christian symbol of authority since the Middle Ages, used on coins, in iconography, and with the sceptre as royal regalia.

Order of St. Andrew was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia.

МѢДНАЯ РОССІЙСКАЯ МОНЕТА
ТРИ КОПѢЙКИ

Reverse

Value flanked by stars within beaded circle. Wreath below, date above.

Mint marks:
Е.М. - Ekaterinburg Mint
С.П.Б. - Saint Petersburg Mint
No mint mark - Petrograd Mint

1868 ГОДА
★ 3 ★
КОПѢЙКИ
Е.М.

Edge
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Characteristics
Material Copper
Weight 9.83 g
Diameter 28.4 mm
Thickness 1.96 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Alt # Y# 11.1, Y# 11.2, Y# 11.3
Mints
Ekaterinburg Mint (EM)
Petrograd Mint
Saint Petersburg Mint (SPMD)

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