Russia Tin-Alloy Medal 1713 (1720s) - Battle at the River Pelkine, 6 October 1713 - Peter I (1682–1725)

39.27g. 46mm. XF/XF. Slight traces of oxidation, otherwise sharply struck and well-preserved. 

Medalier: Philipp Heinrich Müller for obverse and reverse (initial M in the truncation of the sleeve on obverse). 

Diakov 45.1 Ar (R3). 

Original medals from the era of Peter the Great, particularly those by Philipp Heinrich Müller, are exceedingly rare and possess significant historical and numismatic value. 

Obv.: Bust of Peter I facing right, laureate, in armor and fur cloak. The right hand extends forward; in the truncation the initial M. 

Inscription around: 

PETRVS ALEXII FIL • D • G • RVSS • IMP • M • DVX MOSCOVIÆ • 

(Peter, son of Alexis, by the grace of God Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Moscow.) 

Rev.: Plan of the battle between the Swedish and Russian troops near the River Pelkine, between two lakes; in the foreground, Mars and a river deity. Chronogram date 1713. 

Inscription above: 

SVB TE CECIDERE TRIVMPHIS CLAVD. 

(They fell under your triumphs. – Claudius.) 

In exergue: 

SVECI AD PELKINVM AMNEM VICTI 6 • OKT • S • V • 

(The Swedes defeated at the River Pelkine, 6 October [Old Style].) 

The medal commemorates the Russian victory near the River Pelkine (Pälkjärvi, Finland) on 6 October 1713, one of the decisive engagements of the Finnish campaign during the Great Northern War (1700–1721). Russian forces under General Fyodor Apraksin defeated the Swedish army commanded by General Carl Gustaf Armfelt after a short but intense battle, forcing the Swedish troops to abandon their positions in southern Finland.

The victory secured Russian control over southern Finland and marked the decline of Sweden’s military presence east of the Gulf of Bothnia. It demonstrated the growing strength of Peter the Great’s reformed army and foreshadowed the collapse of Sweden’s dominance in the Baltic, leading eventually to the Peace of Nystad (1721) and the emergence of Russia as the principal northern power.