Ivan the Terrible – Silver Kopek
This clear-box presentation features an authentic silver kopek struck during the reign of Ivan IV “the Terrible” (AD 1547–1584), the first ruler to bear the title Tsar of All Russia.
Historical Significance:
Ivan IV is one of the most infamous rulers in world history. Ascending the throne as Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533, he was crowned as Russia’s first Tsar in 1547, establishing the foundation of the Russian autocracy. His reign was marked by dramatic expansion of Russian territory—conquering Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia—while also notorious for ruthless purges, the creation of the Oprichnina, and campaigns of terror that earned him his grim epithet, “the Terrible.”
The silver kopek was the standard currency of Russia in this period, often crudely struck but immensely significant as the monetary expression of a rapidly centralizing state. These coins typically feature a horseman with a spear (sometimes interpreted as Saint George or the Tsar himself) and inscriptions in Old Russian script.
This small coin carries immense history: a tangible relic of the tumultuous reign of the ruler who transformed medieval Muscovy into the beginnings of a vast Russian Empire.
Ivan the Terrible – Silver Kopek
This clear-box presentation features an authentic silver kopek struck during the reign of Ivan IV “the Terrible” (AD 1547–1584), the first ruler to bear the title Tsar of All Russia.
Historical Significance:
Ivan IV is one of the most infamous rulers in world history. Ascending the throne as Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533, he was crowned as Russia’s first Tsar in 1547, establishing the foundation of the Russian autocracy. His reign was marked by dramatic expansion of Russian territory—conquering Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia—while also notorious for ruthless purges, the creation of the Oprichnina, and campaigns of terror that earned him his grim epithet, “the Terrible.”
The silver kopek was the standard currency of Russia in this period, often crudely struck but immensely significant as the monetary expression of a rapidly centralizing state. These coins typically feature a horseman with a spear (sometimes interpreted as Saint George or the Tsar himself) and inscriptions in Old Russian script.
This small coin carries immense history: a tangible relic of the tumultuous reign of the ruler who transformed medieval Muscovy into the beginnings of a vast Russian Empire.
