Kopek

kopeck

, kopek, copeck

a monetary unit of Russia and Belarus worth one hundredth of a rouble: coins are still used as tokens for coin-operated machinery although the kopeck itself is virtually valueless

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Kopek

 

(Russian, kopeika), a Russian small change coin, equivalent to 1/100 of a ruble. It was first coined in the 1530’s from silver. During the 16th and 17th centuries it was commonly known as a novgorodka. In 1704, Peter I introduced the copper kopek into circulation, and from 1718 on silver kopeks were no longer minted. Today in the USSR the kopek is made out of a yellow copper-zinc alloy.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.