850 th Anniversary of Moscow

Obverse

the two-headed eagle designed by artist I. Bilibin. The inscriptions along the rim: at the top — «3 РУБЛЯ 1997 г.» (3 RUBLES 1997), at the bottom — «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA). The letters below indicate the metal sign, the fineness, the fine metal content and the mint trademark.

Reverse

the pictures of Moscow Kremlin of today and the Temple of Christ the Savoir against a background of the River Moskva. The inscription at the top along the rim: «850-ЛЕТИЕ ОСНОВАНИЯ МОСКВЫ» (850th ANNIVERSARY OF MOSCOW).

Authors

The artist: A.V. Baklanov
The sculptor: L.S. Kamshilov
St.-Petersburg Mint (ЛМД)
The edge: 300 corrugations

The Temple of Christ the Savoir, a majestic monument dedicated to the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812, was constructed in the Russian- Byzantine style in 1837-1883 on the left bank of the River Moskva by architect Konstantin Ton. The best Russian builders and artists contributed to its construction. The temple was so spacious that it could hold 10,000 people at a time. In 1932 it was destroyed, nowadays it is being restored.