Foreign Borrowings in the Design of Russian Coins of 1700-1701

Within this research, the author considers the borrowing of decorative elements in the design of the first coins of the “European” type and their supposed foreign prototypes. From 1698 to 1704, Peter the Great carried out a large-scale reform, which radically modified the money circulation and coin production in Russia. This reform also changed the appearance of Russian coins. “New style” Russian coins had appearance of European ones (round form, denomination, date, a state emblem), but they did not copy the corresponding parameters and representational details of the foreign cointypes as a whole. All of the above, this reform allows us to raise some questions on particular borrowing from European coinage, namely: what details of coin design were adopted? Which countries were they borrowed from? The comprehensive study of the details of coin design led to the conclusion that Peter I borrowed from European coin design, along with their classic round shape and even the word “coin” itself, in addition to a number of key image details. However, when the tsar was choosing design details out of a huge number of options, he was guided by his personal preferences.