Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I introduced silver wire kopecks in 1700 as a transitional measure while his broader monetary reform was still being implemented — the round, machine-struck coinage he envisioned wouldn't fully replace the old wire money system for several more years. These pieces were struck by the ancient chekanka method, hammering a die onto a small clipped rod of silver wire, producing the characteristic irregular, oblong flan that had defined Russian petty coinage since the sixteenth century. The 1701 issues represent one of the final years this medieval technique was officially employed before Peter's Westernizing reforms rendered it obsolete.