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Kopeck - Peter I
| Issuer | Russian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1697 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | KG#1606, GKH#1161, GKH2#1224 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Cyrillic |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Peter I inherited a monetary system unchanged since the 16th century — hand-struck wire money, cut from silver rod and hammered into irregular flans. These so-called "fish scale" kopecks were deeply inefficient and nearly impossible to counterfeit-proof, a problem Peter intended to solve with his later Westernizing monetary reforms of 1698–1704. This 1697 piece predates those reforms by a year, placing it in the final cohort of the old system.
The wire kopeck was eventually abolished outright in 1718, with holdout stocks ordered recalled.