Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I's wire kopecks — struck by twisting silver rod into small blanks and hammering between dies — were a medieval technology Peter despised but couldn't immediately replace. The 1702 issues sit at the precise hinge point of his monetary reforms: just a year later, in 1703, he would begin phasing out wire coinage in favor of round, machine-struck pieces. These late wire kopecks consequently saw short circulation windows, which explains why survivors in decent condition appear with some regularity despite negligible original weight.

The wire format had been essentially unchanged since Ivan the Terrible's reforms of 1535.