Watch List notes:

RUSSIAN MEDALS. Medals of Russo-Turkish War, 1828-29. Medal. Silver. 65.5 mm. By H. Gube. On the Opening of the Pulkovo Observatory, 1839. Diakov 548.1 (R2), Reichel 3676 (R1), Sm 499. Bare head of Nicholas I r. in high relief, engraver's name on truncation / Within recessed central circle, a front view of the observatory, architect's name A. Bryullov and 'Cut by Gube' on exergual bar, surrounded by the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Lovely Violet-gray with soft iridescent hues over very minor contact marks. Extremely fine. Established by royal decree in 1833, the Pulkovo Observatory officially opened August 19, 1839 under the directorship of the Baltic German astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm v. Struve. Set atop the Pulkovo Heights – hence its name, about 19 km south of St. Petersburg, the observatory was outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment to carry on its mission of determining the coordinates of stars and astronomical constants and discovering and measuring double stars.. Nearly a century later, Pulkovo's mission and its staff were horribly affected by Stalin's Great Purge, and during World War II, the buildings were completely destroyed in a German air raid. The main instruments, though, were saved. A fully restored and expanded Pulkovo Observatory was reopened May 1954.

Estimate: $3000