Polupoltinnik - Peter I

The polupoltinnik — a quarter-ruble denomination — was part of Peter I's sweeping monetary reform begun in 1700, which replaced the old wire-money system with Western-style milled coinage. Production of this type was erratic across its four-year run, with the Moscow mint struggling to adapt to screw-press technology introduced largely through Dutch and German craftsmen Peter recruited during his Grand Embassy of 1697–98. The 1707–1710 window coincides with the most grueling phase of the Great Northern War against Sweden, when military expenditure was consuming the treasury at a pace the new mint infrastructure was barely keeping up with.