Peter I Poltina

Peter the Great's Poltina coins were the first Russian currency to feature Latin script alongside Cyrillic, a bold move to drag the empire into Western norms.

These silver pieces, valued at 50 kopeks, were struck during his reforms from 1707 to 1725, often on planchets sourced from melted foreign coins like Spanish reales. That practical recycling helped standardize weights and purity, cutting down on the counterfeiting that plagued earlier issues. Sizes varied, but most weighed around 13 grams of .802 fine silver.

Exact mintage figures are murky; records from the St. Petersburg mint burned in the 1838 fire. Still, surviving examples show the wear of daily use, from peasants to merchants.

Oddly enough, the Latin inscriptions sometimes led to confusion among users who couldn't read them, turning a reform into a minor puzzle.