Theophanes the Greek

Obverse

in the centre – the Emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, lower – the semicircular inscription – "БАНК РОССИИ" (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim: at the top – "ПЯТЬДЕСЯТ РУБЛЕЙ" (FIFTY RUBLES), at the bottom – the year of issue "2004", the letters to the left indicate the metal sign and the fineness, to the right – the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.

Reverse

in the centre – the icon "The Virgin of the Don", the inscriptions to the left and to the right from it depicted from top to bottom: "ФЕОФАН" "ГРЕК" ( THEOPHANES) (THE GREEK).

Authors

The artist: A.V. Baklanov.
The sculptor: A.V. Chernousov.
Moscow Mint (ММД).
The edge: 134 corrugations.

The Theophanes the Greek's icon "The Virgin of the Don" was painted in the late third of the XIVth century for the St. Virgin's Assumption Cathedral in the town of Kolomna that had been erected in commemoration of the Victory of Russian warriors on the Kulikovo Plain. Later on the icon was displaced to the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Actually it is kept in the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery.