Russia Bronze Award Medal 1709 (Novodel late 18th - 19th century) - For the Construction of the Taganrog Harbor - Peter I (1682–1725) - NGC MS 63 BN

Top Pop — an outstanding specimen with a sharp strike, vibrant Mint luster, and rich, gorgeous natural toning. 

Medalier: Unknown (initials I • П • on obverse and reverse). 

Copy by an unknown engraver of dies by S. Gouin. 

Diakov 29.4 (Ar – R2). 

Obv.: Bust of Peter I facing right, wearing a laurel wreath and armor partially covered by a mantle. 

Inscription around: 

ЦРЬ ПЕТРЪ АЛЕѮѢЕВИЧЬ ВСЕЯ РОССIИ ПОВЕЛИТЕЛЬ 

(Tsar Peter Alekseevich, Sovereign of All Russia). 

Below the truncation: 

I • П • 

(Initials of the engraver). 

Rev.: Plan view of the Taganrog fortress and harbor extending into the sea. 

Inscription around: 

ЗА ДЕЛО ГАВАНИ КАПIТАНȢ • МАТВѢЮ • СИМОНТОВȢ • 

(For the harbor project to Captain Matvei Simontov). 

Below the exergue: 

1709 

(Year of completion). 

To the left above the exergue: 

I • П • 

(Initials of the engraver). 

Taganrog was founded in 1698 by order of Peter I as the first Russian military port on the Sea of Azov, during the Azov campaigns aimed at securing southern maritime access. The construction of a stone harbor and fortress was a strategic step in challenging Ottoman control over the region and establishing Russia as a naval power. Captain Matvei Simontov, an Italian in Russian service, arrived in Russia in 1698 under contract to train ten Russian men in naval military maneuvers. However, by personal order of Peter I, Simontov was reassigned to lead the construction of a harbor—first at the mouth of the Mius River, and later, due to site unsuitability, at Taganrog based on his own engineering plans.

By May 1709, when Peter I visited Taganrog, the harbor was largely completed. Impressed by the results, the Tsar immediately ordered that Simontov be rewarded with a personal medal. In a letter dated 2 June 1709 from Admiral Fyodor Apraksin to Peter I, it is written: “The medal for Matvei Simontov with Your Majesty’s portrait, and on the other side with a depiction of the harbor and an appropriate inscription, is being made by order, and as soon as it is finished, I will immediately send it to Your Majesty.” This medal stands as one of the earliest known examples of a personalized gold award medal issued during Peter's reign.