Watch List notes:

RUSSIA. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Tretyakov Gallery Bronze Medal, 1956. Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Mint. GEM UNCIRCULATED.
Shkurko & Salikov-118. Diameter: 75mm; Weight: 219.09 gms. By Margachev & Kozlov. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the gallery's establishment. Obverse: Conjoined busts left of Tretyakov, Stasov, Kramskoy, Repin, and Surikov; П. М. ТРЕТЬЯКОВ, В. В. СТАСОВ, / И. Н. КРАМСКОЙ, И. Е. РЕПИН, / В.И. СУРИКОВ in three lines below; all within wreath; Reverse: ИСКУССТВО ПРИНАДЛЕЖИТ НАРОДУ / ΛЕНИН /, façade of the gallery; СТО ΛЕТ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ / ТРЕТЬЯКОВСКОЙ ГАΛΛЕРЕИ / 1856-1956 in three lines in exergue. Edge: Plain. Pleasing light brown surfaces, with a good deal of underlying luster. Attractive Soviet architectural type.

The State Tretyakov Gallery was conceived in 1856 when Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov began collecting contemporary works of art around which he could eventually build a museum. In 1892, he presented his collection of over 2,000 pieces to the Russian Empire, with the façade of the museum eventually being designed by Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov in what can only be described as a Russian "fairy-tale" style. Now, the museum is home to over 130,000 pieces of art.

Estimate: $75 - $150