RUSSIA
SILVER 1708 MEDAL
GREAT NORTHERN WAR
Mint luster under original toning, museum quality.
Engraver: Timofey Ivanovich Ivanov
GRADED PCGS MS63 (OVERSIZE HOLDER /SLAB)
FINEST GRADED MEDAL BY PCGS
VERY RARE
Diakov-25.11
The 1708 Russian medal commemorating the Battle of Lesnaya celebrates Peter the Great’s victory over Swedish General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt on September 28, 1708
The medal features a map of the battlefield and depicts Victory seated on military spoils, symbolizing the destruction of the Swedish supply convoy.
Weight:50.34 g. Diameter: 47mm
Ex Heritage Auction September 19, 2008
Long Beach, CA World Coin Signature Auction
#3002 / Lot #22274
Obverse: Peter I on a galloping horse.
Rev: GLORISA VICTORIA AD LEESNA M ·/28 · SEPT · S · V · ( the glorious victory at Lesnaya on the 28th of September, O.S. ), map of the fortifications at Lesnaya; in foreground to right, Victory seated left upon musical and military implements, holding wreath and horn; to right, shield inscribed CAPVT/EST/A CORPORE/LONGE ·/OVID · ( the head [Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt] is far from its body [the Swedish forces], –adapted from Ovid ); in three lines in exergue, DEVICTO LOWENHAVPT/CAESISAVT CAPT · XVI ·/MILL · SVEC · ( Lewenhaupt defeated, 16,000 Swedes killed or captured ).
The Battle of Lesnaya was fought on 9
October during the Swedish invasion of Russia in the Great Northern War.
Russia was the sole remaining enemy of Sweden following the dissolution of the
anti-Swedish coalition in 1706. Peter I of Russia led a flying corps, supported by two additional divisions, to destroy a convoy under
general Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt that was heading for the Swedish main army in
Ukraine with reinforcements and supplies. Peter caught up with the convoy at the
village of Lesnaya in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, present-day
Belarus.
The Swedes were attacked in the rear at 11:00 as they were crossing the stream
of Lesnyanka, at Lesnaya, heading for Propoysk (Slawharad) on the river Sozh
behind which Charles XII's army was expected. The initial phase of the battle
was fought over a forest clearing a distance from Lesnaya, where a Swedish
outpost attempted to stall the attack. The Swedes were pushed back to the
village after some hours, where Lewenhaupt ordered a general assembly. The
following phase saw Russian attempts to capture the Lesnyanka bridge, to cut him
off from the road to Propoysk. Reinforcements arrived successively on both sides
during the battle, which continued until 19:00 when the approach of night and a
sudden snowfall compelled the Russians to disengage.
Lewenhaupt decided to continue the march in the night, but thousands of troops
were either too exhausted to keep up the pace or got lost in the dark. The bulk
of his forces arrived at Propoysk the next day, where most wagons were abandoned
or destroyed in fear of a Russian pursuit. His army crossed the Sozh over the
following days. Peter, who refrained from a general pursuit, sent only smaller
units to round up Swedish stragglers along the road to Propoysk, which was taken
by storm. Lewenhaupt rendezvoused with Charles at Rukova on 23 October with
about half of his forces remaining. The next year, Peter defeated the Swedes at
Poltava and forced them to surrender at Perevolochna, resulting in the formation
of a new anti-Swedish coalition
Please
check out my other listings and we will be happy to combine in one package !
YOU WILL RECEIVED THE SAME COIN AS PICTURED.
ALL COINS ARE AUTHENTIC AS DESCRIBED.
Listed with ExportYourStore.com