The 50th anniversary of Gagarin's journey into space was marked in 2011 by the Bank of Russia with a 50 Years of the Man's First Space Flight coins series. A 3 rubles silver and 1 000 rubles gold coins had been announced in 1 April 2011. Both coins a minted in Moscow Mint with 7500 pcs minted for the silver and 500 pcs minted for the gold coin. The Bank of Russia's commemorative and investment coins are distributed on the domestic market by credit institutions of the Russian Federation (more than 100 commercial banks were numbered actually). The main part of coins is distributed by the Savings Bank (Sberbank) of the Russian Federation.
The reverse:
In the centre against the background of the celestial sky: The half-length portrait of Yu.A. Gagarin in the space-suit with the right hand raised in a salutary gesture, to the left below - the date in two lines: "12.04 1961 г." (12.04 1961), above - inscription along the rim: "50 ЛЕТ ПЕРВОГО ПОЛЕТА ЧЕЛОВЕКА В КОСМОС" (50 YEARS OF THE MAN'S FIRST SPACE FLIGHT).
The obverse:
In the centre: The emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it - the semicircular inscription "БАНК РОССИИ" (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim - on top: "ОДНА ТЫСЯЧА РУБЛЕЙ" (ONE THOUSAND RUBLES), below: to the left - indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre - the year of issue "2011 г." (2011), to the right - the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.
Technical Specification:
Date of issue: 01.04.2011
Catalogue number: 5220-0010
Denomination: 1 000 rubles
Quality: Proof
Metal, fineness: Gold 999/1000
Total weight: 156.40gm
Diameter: 50.00mm
Thickness: 5.70mm
Mintage: 500pcs.
The artist: S.A. Kozlov.
The sculptor: S.V. Erokhina.
Mint: Moscow Mint (MМД).
The edge: 210 corrugations.
