Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I's wire kopecks — hand-struck on irregular silver flans snipped from drawn wire — were an inherited medieval technology he openly despised. He introduced Western-style milled coinage beginning in 1700 precisely to replace them, yet wire kopecks continued production for years afterward to meet rural demand for small change. The 1703 pieces were struck during the grinding early phase of the Great Northern War against Sweden, when military expenditure placed enormous strain on the Treasury.

These are among the last years of the wire kopeck's production run; the type was formally discontinued in 1718.