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Message:: [QUOTE="Loong Siew, post: 8145724, member: 75799"]Russia. Peter the Great. Beard token. 1705. Original narrow beard variant (non Vorodel). Traces of gold plating. Gold plated VF. Very rare. Obverse: "money taken" (ДЕНГИ ВЗѦТЫ) Reverse: "Year 1705" (҂АѰЕ ГОДѸ) As part of his attempt to modernize the Russian empire along European standards, Tsar Peter I the Great forced his male subjects to shave off their beards. To placate resistance from those insisting of keeping their beards, Except for peasants and religious officials, Russian men will be required to pay a tax to maintain their beards. As proof of payment, they will be given this token and required to be carried in public. If caught without these tokens, police can publicly shave them. Given only a handful of men are willing to pay the tax, these tokens had limited issues making them rare. Coupled by the fact most were melted to mint new coins, original versions are very rare. Also, Novodels or official restrikes were minted for collection during the 19th century. This specimen was gold plated, illustrating the degree of value placed upon this by the original owners. [ATTACH=full]1420574[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]