Polupoltina - Ekaterina I Plate money

Russian plate money — plata myedi — was a short-lived experiment borrowed directly from Sweden, where copper plates had circulated since the 1640s as a way to back currency with the metal's actual commodity value. Catherine I continued the practice begun under Peter the Great, but the system was already proving unworkable: the pieces were too heavy, too unwieldy for commerce, and too expensive to transport. The polupoltina denomination, representing one-quarter of a rouble, sat at the lighter end of the plate money range, yet still required a substantial copper slab.

Production ceased by 1727. Few entered meaningful circulation.