Russian Kopek

About Russian Kopek

The basic unit of Russian currency for nearly 500 years. Featured a horseman with a spear, giving the coin its name from kopye meaning spear. Under Peter the Great, the kopek became a copper coin. By the 19th century, kopeks were tiny copper coins of minimal value. 100 kopeks make one ruble. The Soviet kopek was aluminum. Modern Russia still mints kopeks but they are nearly worthless due to inflation.