Peter II 5 Kopeks

Peter II's 5 Kopeks coins, struck from thick copper planchets, could weigh as much as 128 grams—making them bulkier than a modern pocket watch.

These pieces were minted in Moscow during the young tsar's brief reign, featuring a double-headed eagle on the reverse and his monogram on the obverse. The design echoed Peter the Great's reforms, but with simpler execution due to the rush of a new administration. Not every detail is clear; for instance, exact mintage figures vanished in the 1838 fire that consumed imperial archives.

Variations exist, some with off-center strikes that hint at the era's hasty production methods. If you're handling one, note the patina—often a deep green from centuries of soil or storage. As for myths about their rarity, let's just say not every copper coin from 1727 is a lost treasure; many turned up in old hoards.

That weight, though—it makes you wonder if Peter II was trying to tax his subjects' pockets as well as their purses.