Founded in 1845 by the decree of Emperor Nikolay I, the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) is one of the oldest geographical societies in the world. It serves the dual functions of spreading knowledge about the geography and related sciences of the region, and of aiding nature reserve management in Russia. The current Board of Trustees of the Society is headed by President Vladimir Putin.

In recent years, the society has organised several expeditions, like the geographical expedition to Kyzyl–Kuragino, the Arctic Cleanup Programme and many other nature and archaeological events. It runs several programmes to study and protect rare wildlife and habitats, issues over 200 publications annually, and provides information and finance for media productions.It has regional branches in every one of Russia’s 85 territories and has 22,000 members around the world.

The coin is a typical Russian issue. A formal artistic style focused on symbols – in this case the emblem of the RGS – with a nod to the event, the 175th anniversary, in the inscriptions (175 ЛЕТ РУССКОМУ ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКОМУ ОБЩЕСТВУ). It looks pretty good and is a clear representation of the subject matter. The obverse features the usual double-headed eagle of Russia that is found on all of the countries coins. It’s a ¼ oz coin struck in sterling 0.925 silver to a proof finish by the Saint Petersburg Mint and has a maximum mintage of 5,000 pieces. Available now.

LINKS: RUSSIAN GEOGRAHICAL SOCIETY