The copper kopeck of Alexey Mikhailovich belongs to one of the most catastrophic monetary experiments in early Russian history. Facing severe financial strain from prolonged wars against Poland and Sweden, the government ordered silver wire kopecks to be replaced with copper struck at the same face value — a decision that flooded the economy with effectively worthless coin. Peasants refused them for grain, soldiers were paid in copper while taxes remained payable only in silver, and by 1662 the disparity had grown so intolerable it triggered the Copper Riot in Moscow. Alexey abandoned the copper coinage entirely the following year.
The copper kopeck of Alexey Mikhailovich belongs to one of the most catastrophic monetary experiments in early Russian history. Facing severe financial strain from prolonged wars against Poland and Sweden, the government ordered silver wire kopecks to be replaced with copper struck at the same face value — a decision that flooded the economy with effectively worthless coin. Peasants refused them for grain, soldiers were paid in copper while taxes remained payable only in silver, and by 1662 the disparity had grown so intolerable it triggered the Copper Riot in Moscow. Alexey abandoned the copper coinage entirely the following year.