(sold for $58.0)

1913, Russia, Emperor Nicholas II. Beautiful Bronze Commemorative Medal. AU++
Issued on the 300th Anniversary of the House of Romanov. R!

Mint Year: 1913
Design: A. Vasiyutinsky
Reference: Diakov 1548.3.
Denomination: Medal - 300th Anniversary of the House of Romanov
Condition: Minor deposits, otherwise a nice AU++ with nice mint-lustre in protected areas!
Diameter: 28mm (without loop)
Material: Bronze
Weight: 13.62gm

Obverse: Busts of Nicholas II and Boris Godunov (the most famous member of an ancient Russian family of Tatar origin).

Reverse: Inscription in four lines ("In honor of the 300th Regnal Anniversary of the House of Romanov") above anniversary dates (1613-1913).

The House of Romanov was the second imperial dynasty, after the Rurik dynasty, to rule over Russia, which reigned from 1613 until the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II on March 15, 1917, as a result of the February Revolution. The direct male line of the Romanovs came to an end when Elizabeth of Russia died in 1762. After an era of dynastic crisis, the House of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg, ascended the throne in 1762 with Peter III, a grandson of Peter I. All rulers from the middle of the 18th century to the revolution of 1917 were descended from that branch. Though officially known as the House of Romanov, these descendants of the Romanov and Oldenburg Houses are sometimes referred to as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. "In early 1917 the Romanov Dynasty had 65 members, 18 of which were killed by the Bolsheviks. The remaining 47 members were exiled abroad." In 1924, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the direct male-line patrilineal descendant of Alexander II of Russia, claimed the headship of the defunct Imperial House of Russia. His granddaughter, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, is the current pretender, her only child George Mikhailovich is her heir apparent.

Nicholas II of Russia born Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov (18 May 1868 - 17 July 1918) was the last Tsar of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland. His official title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is currently regarded as Saint Nicholas the Passion Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He proved unable to manage a country in political turmoil and command its army in World War I. His rule ended with the Russian Revolution of 1917 in which he and his family were imprisoned first in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, then later in the Governor's Mansion in Tobolsk, and finally at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. Nicholas II , his wife , his son , his four daughters, the family's medical doctor, his personal servant, the Empress' chambermaid and the family's cook were all murdered in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 17 July 1918. It is now well documented that this event had been orchestrated from Moscow by Lenin and the Bolshevik leader Yakov Sverdlov. This has led to the late Nicholas II, his wife the Empress and their children to be canonized as Martyrs by various groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church within Russia and, prominently, by the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia. Nicholas II was nicknamed by his critics Bloody Nicholas because of the Khodynka Tragedy, Bloody Sunday, and his government's suppressions of dissent. In reality, he was a weak and indecisive man dominated by his wife and isolated from the socio-economic problems of his own country. Lastly, as Head of State, he did approve the Russian mobilization of August 1914 which marked the first fatal step into World War I and thus into the demise of the Romanov dynasty. Nicholas II was considered at the time as the third richest person in modern history.