Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I introduced silver kopecks in 1701 as part of his sweeping monetary reform, which ultimately replaced the old wire-money "fish scale" coppers that had circulated in Russia for nearly two centuries. These tiny hand-struck pieces represented the dying gasp of a medieval coinage tradition — production of the wire type was formally abolished by 1718.

At 0.28 g, the blanks were cut from drawn silver wire, a technique inherited directly from the Muscovite minting system Peter was simultaneously trying to dismantle.