Denga - Ekaterina II Novodel

Novodels — official restrike specimens produced by the Imperial Mint for collectors and diplomatic presentation — occupy an ambiguous space in Russian numismatics. This Denga falls into that category: almost certainly struck after the reign of Ekaterina II ended in November 1796, likely under Paul I, who authorized retrospective strikings of his mother's coinage types. Bit#963 places it firmly in the novodel series documented by Bitkin, where collector demand rather than monetary need drove production.

The legitimacy of these pieces was never in question, but their artificiality was — Paul reportedly despised his mother's memory enough that the continued production of her effigy coinage under his watch remains an irony numismatists still note.