Kopeck - Alexey Mikhailovich Punched forgery

During the reign of Alexey Mikhailovich, the Russian copper money riot of 1662 — the Medny Bunt — was a direct consequence of the government's decision to issue copper kopecks at the same face value as silver ones to fund the prolonged war with Poland. The resulting inflation and public fury forced a reversal: copper coinage was withdrawn, and silver wire kopecks resumed as the sole small denomination. This piece dates from that post-riot restoration period.

The "punched forgery" designation indicates a contemporary counterfeit identified by a test punch — a practice used by merchants or officials to mark suspicious coins, inadvertently preserving the piece as documentary evidence of the period's monetary distrust.