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Kopeck - Boris Godunov MO
| Issuer | Russian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1598-1605 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13.4 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Cyrillic |
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| Reverse description | Multi-line Cyrillic inscription filling the entire field in continuous text without word spaces, wrapping across lines without regard to word boundaries, consistent with the wire money inscription style of Muscovite coinage. The legend reads ЦАРЬ И ВЕЛИКИЙ КНЯЗЬ БОРИС ФЕДОРОВИЧ ВСЕЯ РУСИ, identifying the issuing ruler as Tsar and Grand Prince Boris Feodorovich of all Rus. The lettering is rendered in an archaic Old Church Slavonic orthography using abbreviated forms and ligatures characteristic of the period. The inscription is typically partially visible due to the small irregular flan, and letter forms may vary between individual specimens. |
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| Additional information |
Boris Godunov's accession in 1598 was itself contested — he had effectively ruled as regent during the reign of Feodor I, and his election by the Zemsky Sobor was challenged by boyar factions who considered him a usurper of low Tatar stock. The kopecks struck under his name were wire money, hand-cut from drawn silver rod and struck between crude dies, a production method unchanged since Ivan the Terrible's monetary reform of 1535.
The MO mint mark indicates Moscow. Godunov died in April 1605 with the False Dmitry already advancing on the capital, and his son Feodor II was murdered within weeks — ending the dynasty after a single generation.