Peter I's wire kopecks — struck by the ancient "chekanka" method, rolling silver wire into slugs and hammering them between dies — were already anachronistic by 1703. Peter despised them, famously calling them "fish scales," and was actively dismantling the system that produced them even as this piece was struck. The Moscow mints continued output only because the new milled coinage infrastructure wasn't yet ready to replace them.
Production of wire kopecks ceased entirely by 1718.
Peter I's wire kopecks — struck by the ancient "chekanka" method, rolling silver wire into slugs and hammering them between dies — were already anachronistic by 1703. Peter despised them, famously calling them "fish scales," and was actively dismantling the system that produced them even as this piece was struck. The Moscow mints continued output only because the new milled coinage infrastructure wasn't yet ready to replace them.
Production of wire kopecks ceased entirely by 1718.