The story of Antonin Prokop highlights one of the important qualities of a serious coin collector -- sheer persistence.

The Czech numismatist, Antonin Prokop, lived and worked in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century and assembled an exceptional collection of Russian coins during Tsarist rule. In 1919, however, the Soviets considered it communal property and confiscated the collection. It was subsequently auctioned off to foreign dealers. Prokop was able to leave Russia in 1921, taking his family to the recently formed Republic of Czechoslovakia where he started a new business and began the process of rebuilding his collection. He was able to buy back some of his original pieces and by the middle of the century, he had again assembled a world class collection.

Antonin Prokop died in 1954 but later in the same year Soviet influence would once again claim his collection. This time, the Communist regime consigned the entire lot to be melted for its precious metal content. Fortunately, it was saved from this fate by the head of the numismatic section of the Czech National Museum and was quietly preserved. After the 'Velvet Revolution' of 1989, the collection was returned to Prokop's family.

Today, the significant portion of the Antonin Prokop collection of Russian coins is considered a national treasure and housed in the National Museum in Prague. A lesser portion of his collection was auctioned to the public in 2003 by Aurea Numismatika. I thank Dr. Jarmila Haskova for preserving this bit of numismatic history.

My love of big, old silver coins is not limited to 8 reales. I'm working on a type set of silver dollar sized coins from around the world, mostly 18th century, and this interesting story gives me a chance to show off one that I have recently acquired. This is an example of the principal silver coin of the Russian Empire, the rouble. It is from the early years of the reign of Elizabeth, second-oldest surviving daughter of Peter the Great. Roubles shrank in size and fineness over time -- this one, minted in Moscow, is 25.85 grams and 80% silver. And, of course, it is pedigreed to the Antonin Prokop collection.

~jack

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