Jefimok Rouble - Alexey Mikhailovich Countermarked over 'Austria Hall Mint Taler 1613'

The jefimok policy of 1655 was a fiscal emergency measure. Russia lacked the silver mining infrastructure to produce roubles from domestic metal, so Alexey Mikhailovich's treasury simply bought up Western thalers in bulk and countermarked them into legal tender at one rouble each — a valuation roughly double their intrinsic worth. The arbitrage was unsustainable. By 1659, the issue was demonetized, accepted back by the state at just 64 kopeks apiece.

The Hall Mint taler of 1613 used as the host here was already four decades old when stamped. Innsbruck's Hall an der Inn facility was one of the most prolific in the Habsburg lands, which explains why its output turns up so frequently as jefimok hosts.