Russian Tsar Peter I has issued an order about rewarding of all participants of the Battle of Poltava soon after June 27th 1709, but an official decree about coining medals for rewarding of lower ranks of Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments was published only on February, 8, 1710. Since that time many different medals have been stricken unofficially. Yaroslavl Art Museum has gotten this unique collection in 1988 from successor of famous St. Petersburg collector Ashik. Mostly these medals were struck in bronze in 1908 and 1909 when Russian Empire were getting ready for the coming 200th anniversary of the decisive battle of the Great Northern war.