Denezhka - Alexander II Warsaw Mint

The Warsaw Mint struck copper fractional coinage for Russian Poland under Alexander II during a period of mounting political tension that would erupt in the January Uprising of 1863 — the same year this issue ceased. Production at Warsaw was abruptly curtailed following the insurrection, after which the mint's role in supplying Russian imperial coinage was sharply reduced. The denezhka, worth half a kopek, was the smallest practical unit in circulation and saw heavy use in peasant transactions, particularly after the 1861 emancipation reforms flooded rural markets with wage-based commerce.