IVANOV, Timothei: Russia, 1784, Bronze, 79 mm
Obv: Crowned bust of Catherine the Great (r). Legend in Cyrillic translated as: "By the Grace of God, Catherine II Empress and Autocrat of All Russia".
Rev: Caduceus, surmounted by a cap, over three linked, crowned city shields with inscriptions in Cyrillic translated as "Feodosia, Kherson and Sevastopol". Legend around: "For the Benefit of Trade" (in Cyrillic).
Exergue: Year 1784, February (in Cyrillic)
Signed: Cut by Timothea Ivanov in Year 1790 (in Cyrillic)
Ref: Reichel 2702; Diakov, part 2, 200/201.1; Weiss BW161

Feodosia is an ancient city on the costal region of the Northern Black Sea, receiving its name Feodosia ('given by God') in the first half of the 4th century BCE. Over the years it became one of the main centers of grain trade. By the 15^th century it had changed its name to Kaffa and was the largest Crimean city and one of the most important economic and cultural centers of the region. At the beginning of the 17th century, the city became one of the main centers of Gothic Orthodox eparchy. In 1771 during the years of Russian-Turkish warfare Kaffa was conquered by Russian forces, and by 1783 the city became part of the Russian Empire. In 1784 the name of the city reverted to the ancient Greek name 'Feodosia'.

Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine and an important port on the Black Sea.

Sevastopol is also a port city in Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula.

The free trade agreement among these three cities along the Black Sea was clearly an important occasion at that time, as evidenced by the issuance of this medal commemorating the event.

This scarce medal made by T. Ivanov is the original of its type.