Paul I Denga

Paul I's Denga coins were among the first Russian issues to feature his distinctive portrait, complete with a Roman-style laurel wreath, signaling a sharp break from Catherine the Great's designs.

This copper piece, valued at half a kopek, was minted at the Saint Petersburg facility between 1796 and 1801. The obverse typically showed Paul's head, while the reverse bore the imperial eagle. Production relied on standard copper blanks, though variations in strike quality arose from the era's rudimentary techniques.

Exact mintage figures are murky; records from that period were likely destroyed in later upheavals, including the 1812 fire in Moscow.

Some specimens turn up with edge flaws, a testament to the rush of reform under a ruler who lasted just five years.