William22

I have never seen this either but right now I am thinking of two things. Number one is that it could be a cast copy and number two is that it could be a die varient. Cast copies lack certain details but this one still has a lot of details showing. I am also curious about the rim on the obverse. If you look at the shoulder board of Nicholas II, it is truncated in your new medal but in the other picture, it appears more full. The moustaches of both Nicholas and the first Romanov tsar are different in the two medals as well as the hairline of Nicholas II. These are just a couple of examples but maybe it is enough to say that there are too many differences to justify saying that these two medals are simply struck with different dies. I am not sure but it is just a thought. The size and thickness of the planchet at the edge and center comes to mind too. I wonder what the differences are if any? The attacment ring on the new medal looks as if it has been brazen on rather than a part of the complete planchet. These are just thoughts and perhaps others might have some comments on this. The new medal is a curious variation again that I have never seen from the variations that I have seen. I hope that there are some more comments on this piece.

I'm afraid that I agree with all of the above opinions. I have seen quite a few of these in the past and though not an expert, these look too good to be true.