Cherepanov Steam Locomotive

Obverse

the mirror field of the disc bears a relief image of the National Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation, over it along the rim there is the semicircular inscription ‘РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ’ (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) framed on both sides by doubled rhombuses, below under the coat of arms there are indications of the precious metal and its fineness on the left and the fine metal content and the mint trade mark on the right, at the bottom in the centre, in three lines, there is an inscription ‘БАНК РОССИИ’ (BANK OF RUSSIA), the denomination of the coin ‘3 РУБЛЯ’ (3 RUBLES), and the year of issue ‘2021 г.’ (2021).

Reverse

the mirror field of the disc features a partially coloured image of the steam locomotive driven by a worker against the background of factory buildings; there are inscriptions: ‘ПАРОВОЗ ЧЕРЕПАНОВЫХ’ (CHEREPANOV STEAM LOCOMOTIVE) at the top along the rim and ‘1834’ at the bottom.

Authors

Designers: E.V. Kramskaya (obverse), A.A. Brynza (reverse).
Sculptors: A.A. Dolgopolova (obverse), O.G. Shepel, M.E. Kuznetsova (reverse).
Mint: Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД).
Edge: 300 corrugations.

Discover more

Cherepanov Steam Locomotive is the first steam train built in Russia. It was constructed in 1834 by Yefim and Miron Cherepanov (father and son), who worked as engineers at the Vyisk factory.

In 1833, factory owners sent Miron Cherepanov to England to learn advanced technology and modern technological achievements in metallurgy. There, he had an opportunity to see George Stephenson’s steam locomotive, the world’s first one used in practice. It was enough for Miron to have external inspection to decide to build the first Russian steam locomotive upon returning home.

The genius inventors did not simply reproduce the English steam locomotive; they significantly improved its technical characteristics: they modified steam production by increasing the number of fire tubes and added a reverse device thanks to which the steam locomotive could change its direction and move backwards. They also built the first Russian railway connecting the Vyisk factory and the Mednorudnyansky mine. In 1835, the Cherepanovs created the second, more powerful, steam locomotive.

Despite their practical focus, Cherepanovs’ inventions remained unrealised due to their excessively high cost and lack of well-established timber production in the railway area.