Russian Empire, Nicholas II, Denga 1898

Such small copper coins worth half a kopeck were called "denga " in Russian vernacular. This specimen, minted in St Petersburg in 1898, bears the elaborate monogram of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917) on its obverse. The reverse shows the denomination and the date. Nicholas was forced to abdicate in March 1917. At that time, the minting of imperial coins stopped. Under the new reign of the Soviet Union, 1/2 kopeck-coins were issued in 1925 and 1927 once again. After that, their stamping was definitively abolished. There was no need for such small denominations any more, since they did not have much purchasing power left.