kopek

n.
A coin equal to ¹/₁₀₀ of the Russian ruble.

[Russian kopeĭka, from Middle Russian kopeika, from kopie, spear (from the image of a rider with a spear on the coins minted by Moscow after the capture of Novgorod in 1478).]

The kopeck (kopeyka) - equal to one-hundredth of the ruble - was first introduced as part of a 1534 monetary reform as equal to 0.68 grams of silver.

The silver coin was twice as heavy as the Muscovite denga (moskovka) and known as denga kopeynaya, because - like its Lithuanian model - it depicted a rider carrying a lance (kope). The name novgorodka, initially much more common, reflected the fact that it equaled in value the old Novgorod denga. In spite of the reform, the Muscovite denga and altyn (the latter equal to three kopecks) remained the basic units of accounting until the eighteenth century. The kopeck was the largest denomination minted until the 1654 monetary reform, along with the denga and the polushka (one-quarter kopeck). Vasily Shuisky briefly minted gold kopecks, and during Alexei Mikhailovich's currency reform from 1655 to 1663, kopecks were minted of copper. Alexei also began to mint ruble, poltina (50 kopecks), and altyn coins, as well as, experimentally, the grosh (two kopecks). In 1701 the polupoltinnik (25 kopecks), the grivna (10 kopecks), and the polugrivna (5 kopecks) were introduced.

Peter I's monetary reform of 1704 introduced a decimal system with the copper kopeck as the basic subdivision of the silver ruble, although silver kopecks continued to be minted until 1718. Fifteen- and twenty-kopeck coins were introduced in 1760. Coins of up to 5 kopecks during the rest of the Imperial Era tended to be minted of copper, regardless of transition between silver, gold, and paper rubles. During the Soviet period, kopecks were minted of an alloy of copper and zinc.

Bibliography

Spassky, Ivan Georgievich. (1968). The Russian Monetary System: A Historico-Numismatic Survey, tr. Z. I. Gorishina and rev. L. S. Forrer. Amsterdam: J. Schulman.

—JARMO T. KOTILAINE

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: 100 kopecks equal 1 ruble
  Synonyms: kopek, copeck

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - valuta i Rusland, 1/100 rubel

Nederlands (Dutch)
kopeke

Français (French)
n. - kopeck

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kopeke, (russ. Münze)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (οικον.) (νόμισμα) καπίκι

Italiano (Italian)
copeco

Português (Portuguese)
n. - moeda (f) da antiga União Soviética

Русский (Russian)
копейка

Español (Spanish)
n. - copeck, moneda rusa que vale 1/100 de rublo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kopek

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
苏联小铜板, 戈比

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 蘇聯小銅板, 戈比

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 소련의 화폐 단위, 코페카인 동전

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カペイカ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جز من وحدة النقد الروسيه الروبل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קופיקה (מאית הרובל)‬

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