Polushka - Nikolai I

The polushka — a quarter-kopek — was the smallest denomination in circulation during Nicholas I's reign, and by the 1840s it was barely worth producing. The coin's continued minting into the Crimean War years reflects the Russian treasury's stubborn adherence to a copper-heavy monetary infrastructure even as military expenditure strained state finances. Copper coinage of this period was struck at the Ekaterinburg mint, which by mid-century handled the bulk of low-denomination production for the empire's vast interior markets.