Jefimok Rouble - Alexey Mikhailovich Countermarked over 'Zwolle Arendrijksdaalder'

The jefimok program of 1655 was a fiscal emergency measure. Russia lacked the minting infrastructure to produce roubles in sufficient volume, so Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered foreign taler-weight coins — accumulated through trade — to be countermarked with a horseman punch and a date stamp, instantly converting them into roubles at a rate of 64 kopecks face value against a silver content worth considerably less. The Zwolle rijksdaalder, struck by the Overijssel mint in the Dutch Republic, was one of dozens of accepted host types.

The scheme collapsed within a year. Merchants calculated the overvaluation and refused the coins; the resulting monetary chaos contributed directly to the copper rouble riots of 1662.