With the death of Alexander I at Taganrog on Nov. 19, 1825, Nicholas I ascended to the throne of his ancestors, although not without difficulty. In a technical sense, the coinage of Nov. 19 through Dec. 31, 1825, may be given to Nicholas, but it usually is allotted to Alexander I, his elder brother.
It is just barely possible that there is a coinage of 1825, which can be clearly ascribed to Nicholas. At some point late in that year, Paul Stupitsyn, who had held the post of gold mintmaster, either died or suddenly retired, and his place was taken by Paul Danilov. Danilov was, until that time, the mintmaster for silver.
The elevation of Danilov to the gold section left the silver post open; this was then filled by…
