Altynnik - Peter I

The altynnik — worth three kopecks — was part of Peter I's sweeping monetary reform that dismantled the old wire-money system and introduced machine-struck coinage on Western European principles. By 1718, the reform was well underway but the billon small change remained perpetually troubled: the low silver content made these pieces profitable to counterfeit, and contemporary documents record persistent problems with unofficial copies circulating alongside genuine mint output.

KM#154.1 distinguishes the Moscow mint variety by die details that collectors have used to separate the type from closely related emissions of the same year.