Catalog
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| Issuer | Imperial Russian Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1716 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KG#no, GKH#1778, GKH2#1864 |
| Obverse description | Central device depicts a mounted horseman — the traditional image of the Tsar as a warrior-sovereign — shown in right-facing profile astride a horse, with a spear or lance raised in the right hand, rendered in the archaic wire money style characteristic of late Muscovite coinage. The flan is small, irregularly shaped, and struck on a flattened sliver of silver wire, resulting in partial design visibility typical of this denomination. The crude but expressive relief reflects the hand-hammered production technique employed at the Moscow Mint. No border or inner circle is present, and the design occupies the entire available field. The overall style conforms to the long-established Russian kopeck tradition descending from the reign of Ivan IV. |
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| Mintage | 1716 ҂АΨSI - Rarity (GKH2) 7 |
| Additional information |
Peter I's wire kopecks — the ancient chekanka type hammered between dies on a flattened silver wire blank — were already technological anachronisms by 1716, a deliberate holdover kept in circulation alongside the new milled coinage Peter had introduced after 1700. The Tsar reportedly despised them, associating the primitive production method with Muscovite backwardness, yet discontinuing them entirely risked disrupting the peasant economy that had used little else for generations.
Production of the wire kopeck ceased entirely by 1718.