Horses
USA - Delaware State Quarter


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC PF 67 ULTRA CAMEO
Owner: brg5658
 
Set Category: Thematic & Topical Coins
Set Name: Horses
Slot Name: USA - Delaware State Quarter
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

Purchased on 6/2/2011. This coin features the famous statue of Peter the Great of Russia (known as the Bronze Horseman). It was issued by the USSR in 1988 as both a proof (mintage 325,000) and as a circulation strike coin (mintage 1.7 million). The Bronze Horseman is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was commissioned by Catherine the Great and was created by the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet. In 1775 the casting of the statue began, supervised by caster Emelyan Khailov. At one point during the casting, the mould broke, releasing molten bronze that started several fires. All the workers ran except Khailov, who risked his life to salvage the casting. After having to be remelted and recast, the statue was later finished. It took 12 years, from 1770 to 1782, to create the statue, including pedestal, horse and rider. Interestingly, the pedestal on which the statue is mounted is known as the "Thunder Stone". The Thunder Stone is sometimes claimed to be the "largest stone ever moved by man". It was effectively moved 6 km (3.7 mi) overland to the Gulf of Finland by manpower alone; no animals or machines were used. It was further transported by barge up the Neva River where it reached St. Petersburg. The entire effort is considered an historic engineering feat. According to the fall 1882 edition of La Nature, its dimensions before being cut were 7 × 14 × 9 m. Based on the density of granite, its mass was determined to be around 1500 tonnes. To this day, it is still one of the largest sculpted stones in the world.

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