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Auction: 336 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1257

Russia. Award Medal for the Storming of Akhulgo in the Caucasus, 1839. Silver, 25.3 mm. Crowned cipher of Nicholas I, rev. Four-line legend. Bit 841A (R3), Diakov 549.1 (R2), Sm 503. Awarded to military personnel, doctors and clergy who participated in the siege of the Avar village of Akhulgo from June 12 to August 23, 1839. In June 1839, the Russian Imperial army besieged Imam Shamil, leader of the Caucasian resistance, and some 4,000-5,000 of his followers - men, women and children -- in their mountain fastness of Akhulgo, 10 miles east of Shamil's birthplace, Gimry, in Dagestan. The Russian force of some 7,000 troops was under the command of Generals Yevgeny Golovin and Pavel Grabbe. Up the steep slopes, they attacked the fortified village four times with no success. Finally, after 80 days and with the help of heavy artillery, the Russians stormed Akhulgo. The rebels were slaughtered, while the Russians lost over 2,500 men in the bitter fighting. Shamil, though, together with his family and a small party of his closest followers, escaped down the cliffs and through the Russian lines. He would go on to unite the quarrelsome Caucasian tribes, presiding as Imam over the Third Caucasian Imamate (1840-1859). Very Rare. Integral loop. Scrape reverse edge, a few small rim nicks and light reddish deposit near loop. Pale slate gray. About Very Fine.

Estimate
$600 to $900