2 Kopecks - Ekaterina II Novodel

Novodels — official restrike specimens produced by the St. Petersburg and Moscow mints, primarily from the late 18th century onward — were made explicitly for collectors and diplomats, not for any monetary purpose. Catherine II's administration produced them in response to growing European demand for Russian numismatic material, and many were struck on specially prepared planchets with prooflike surfaces that the original circulation issues never received. Bitskin 696 places this piece within the documented novodel sequence, distinguishing it from the original 1765 emission struck under the Sestroretsk and Ekaterinburg mint programs.