Grivna - Ekaterina I Plate money, Novodel

Russian plate money of this period was a direct borrowing from Swedish practice — large copper slabs struck at corners and center to serve as high-denomination currency by weight. Catherine I authorized the Yekaterinburg series in 1726 specifically to absorb surplus copper from the Ural mines, where production had outpaced demand for conventional coinage. The experiment was short-lived; the plates were withdrawn within two years as impractical for everyday exchange.

The novodel status here is significant. These are later restrike specimens produced for collectors, not original circulation issues — the KM numbering across NP5 through NP7 reflects minor die distinctions among the restrike population rather than separate emission dates.