The Coinage of Russia 1645-1663

WITH THE DEATH of Czar Michael in June 1645, his place on the throne was taken by the eldest son, Alexis. If there had been no Peter the Great, Alexis would today be remembered as the man who forced Russia towards the West and new ways. Much of what he did was temporarily undone by successors, obscuring his accomplishments.

Over the years Alexis introduced the printing press, the theater, a much larger number of translated foreign books, financial reform, and the wholesale importation of merchants and professional military men. For the army, some estimates run as high as half foreigners for the officer corps; more than 3,000 came from Scotland alone.

In the 16th century Europe was awash in silver, with many of the minor German states striking large numbers of talers; it was a silver age of coinage throughout much of the continent.

Much of the silver came from Jachymov in Bohemia; the town’s name gave us Joachimsthaler which in turn produced the word dollar. In Russia a similar transformation took place and large silver coins became known as efimiki (yefimok in English). Well before 1600 yefimoks, valued at 50 kopecks, were in circulation within Russia; the use of foreign currency