The Coinage of Elizabeth, 1741-1761
ALTHOUGH LITTLE REMEMBERED today, except by historians and numismatists, Empress Elizabeth of Russia in her time was a force to be reckoned with in European politics. Not only did she keep Russia itself under tight control, but her armies were involved in foreign wars on more than one occasion.
Born in December 1709, Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter I (the great) and his consort Catherine. At the age of 16 in 1726, there had been a planned betrothal to King Louis XV of France but this was abruptly cancelled by the French government in favor of a Polish princess.
Peter I died in January 1725 and was succeeded by his widow, the Empress Catherine I, who survived only a little over two years; the next ruler was Peter II, the grandson of Peter I but he too died after a short time, in mid-January 1730. The real power under Peter II had been held by a regent and in early 1730 the powers behind the throne decided that the niece of Peter I, Anna, would be the next ruler. Elizabeth should have been named but was not.
Anna ruled for 10 years but because of her personal dislike of Elizabeth, decided to name a member of her branch of the Romanov family as successor to the throne. Upon Anna’s death in late 1740 Ivan III, at the age of only a
