Jefimok Rouble - Alexey Mikhailovich Countermarked over 'Saxe-Weimar Taler 1622'

The jefimok program of 1655 was a fiscal emergency measure: Russia lacked the silver infrastructure to strike thalers from scratch, so Alexey Mikhailovich's government simply overstamped foreign coins already circulating in trade. The countermarks — a horseman punch and a date punch applied separately — were driven into whatever Western thalers merchants had on hand, the 1622 Saxe-Weimar piece among them. The program collapsed within a year, the coins withdrawn and demonetized after merchants refused them at face value.

Spassky documents numerous host coin varieties; the Saxe-Weimar 1622 is among the less frequently encountered hosts.