Bye-Bye to Russian Kopek Coins - US Cents & Nickels Soon, Too?

1, 5 Kopek Coins Going Away

12 March 2012

By Howard Amos

Andrei Makhonin / Vedomosti

The Central Bank mints small-denomination coins at a “significant” loss.

That inevitable accumulation of almost worthless change could become a thing of the past this year as the Central Bank pushes to remove all 1- and 5-kopek coins from circulation.


There are about 7.3 billion 1-kopek and 5.8 billion 5-kopek coins currently in use across the country. One kopek is worth 0.03 cents.

“The majority of this money is not being used and shops are gradually stopping to accept it,” said First Deputy Central Bank Chairman Georgy Luntovsky, Interfax reported. “Moreover the production of these coins is loss-making.”

He declined to name the exact amount that the Central Bank loses in the manufacture of the small-denomination coinage but said it was “significant.”

The debate about the fate of the 1- and 5-kopek pieces is not new — inflation over the past decade has made the coins increasingly worthless. Many shoppers do not even bother to pick up their change when it only amounts to a few kopeks.

Read more: http://chasvoice.blogspot.com/2012/03/bye-bye-to-russian-kopek-coins-us-cents.html#ixzz1p1PdvNOu