Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I introduced the kopeck as part of his sweeping monetary reform of 1700–1704, which replaced the old wire "fish scale" dengi system with a decimal coinage — one of the earliest decimal currency systems adopted by any major state. The 1704 silver kopeck sits at the hinge point of that transition, struck in the same year the full reformed series entered circulation simultaneously.

The extraordinarily low silver content reflects deliberate policy: Peter needed high coin counts from limited bullion to fund the Great Northern War against Sweden, then in its fifth year.