Russia Tin-Alloy Medal 1713 (2nd half 18th c.) - Battle at the River Pelkine, 6 October 1713 - Peter I (1682–1725)

58.52g. 46mm. XF/XF. 

Medalier: Timofey Ivanov (T.I. on obverse truncation) and Samoylo Yudin (Ю on reverse, left above truncation). 

Diakov 45.4 (Ar - R1). 

Obv.: Bust of Peter I right, in laurel wreath with bow; cuirass decorated with arabesques; initials T • I • in truncation; die marked “TI”.

Inscription around:

PETRVS . ALEXII . FIL . D . G . RVSS . IMP . M . DVXMOSCOVIÆ

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

Rev.: Chronogram 1713. Between two lakes and the River Pelkine is shown the plan of the battle; in the foreground figures of Mars and a river deity.

Inscription around:

sUв тᴇ CᴇCIDᴇʀᴇ | тʀIVMᴘнIs • cʟᴀvᴅ •

(They fell under your triumphs.).

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.