Russia (USSR, Moscow Mint) Bronze (Tombac) Medal 1966 - 225th Anniversary of the Death of Vitus Bering

60mm. 118.78g. UNC/UNC. 

Mintage 856 pcs. 

Medalier: A. Leonova. 

Shkurko, Salykov 440. 

Rare. 

Obv.: Portrait of Vitus Bering facing right, rendered in high relief with long flowing hair; stylized drapery around the shoulders. Vertical inscription along the right rim: Витус Беринг 1681–1741 (Vitus Bering 1681–1741). Signature at lower left: А.Леонова (A. Leonova). 

Rev.: Stylized relief map showing the Bering Strait region; to the right, inscription БЕРИНГОВ ПРОЛИВ (Bering Strait), below, inscription БЕРИНГОВО МОРЕ (Bering Sea). At bottom, a sailing ship moving left across the stylized waves. 

Vitus Bering (1681–1741) was a Danish-born explorer in the service of the Russian Empire, whose expeditions defined the geography of the northern Pacific region. His work connected the maritime and cartographic histories of Denmark, Russia, and the areas that now form part of the United States (Alaska). During the Great Northern Expeditions, Bering charted the coasts of Siberia, navigated the strait that later received his name, and confirmed the separation between Asia and North America, significantly advancing eighteenth-century geographic knowledge.