SMOLNY MEDAL AND PLATINUM IN NUMISMATICS Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 16, April 18, 2004, Article 11
SMOLNY MEDAL AND PLATINUM IN NUMISMATICS
J. Moens of Dilbeek, Belgium, writes: "In the last E-Sylum,
one of your readers asked where he could find a picture
of the medal struck for the construction of the Smolny
Cathedral completed in 1835."
[An image of the medal was included. -Editor]"It is taken from a bronze medal, offered in an auction by
World Wide Coins of California. Please note that this medal
is also known in platinum, but it is almost certain that this
off-metal strike was made in Paris in 1859, by French
scientists who were able to melt platinum, provided by the
Russian government. It is proven that the Paris Mint struck
38 medals in platinum in that year, using dies from the Saint
Petersbourg Mint. Melting platinum had been impossible up
to then, and was certainly so in 1835. Readers who are
interested in a numismatic history of platinum, may request a
copy of an article I published on the topic last year (only
available in Dutch)."- 2004-04-18
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