2 Kopecks

These fractional treasury notes — 1, 2, 3, 10, 15, and 20 kopeck denominations — were issued in 1915 because small metallic coinage had vanished from circulation almost overnight after war broke out. The public hoarded copper and silver as the ruble came under pressure, leaving everyday transactions paralyzed. Nicholas II's treasury responded with postage stamp-sized paper substitutes, printed on one side only with a stamp design on the reverse.

The reverse explicitly states these notes circulate on par with silver coinage — a claim increasingly difficult to sustain as the war dragged on.