Polushka

A polushka (Russian: полушка, "half [of a denga]"), also historically known as a poludenga (Russian: полуденга), was a Russian coin with a value equal to 1⁄2 denga. Following the 1535 monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya, it had a value equal to 1⁄4 kopeck (100 kopecks = 1 ruble).

The coin was minted from the 1390s in the Grand Principality of Moscow, specifically in Moscow, Serpukhov, Zvenigorod, Mozhaysk, and Dmitrov.^[1] It was also minted in the appanage principalities of Nizhny Novgorod and Rostov.^[1] From the late 15th century, it was also minted in Novgorod and Tver.^[1] At the time, it had a value of 1⁄2 moskovka (Moscow denga), with a weight of approximately 0.4g, with 400 polushkas being equal to a ruble.^[1]

The coins had images of horsemen, warriors, animals, and birds.^[1] The inscriptions on the coins bore the name of princes who issued the coin.^[1] There are also rare coins from the 14th and early 15th centuries that contain the inscription poldengi moskovskiye (Russian: по­лъден­ги мо­с­ков­ские, lit. 'Muscovite half-dengas').^[1] The term poludenga is mentioned in written sources from the late 15th century.^[1]

In the centralized Russian state, it was the smallest silver coin.^[1] In the 16th and 17th centuries, the coins were issued with "P." simply shown as the denomination.^[1] Following the 1535 monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya, it was made equal to 1⁄4 kopeck with an approximate weight of 0.17g.^[1] The last silver coins were minted in the early 1680s, with an approximate weight of 0.09g.^[1]

From around 1700 to 1810 and from 1850 to 1867, copper coins with the inscription "P." were issued.^[1] From 1839 to 1846 and 1867 to 1916, such coins were issued with the denomination shown simply as 1⁄4 kopeck.^[1]

• Peter the Great (1700–1716, 1718–1722)
• Anna of Russia (1730–1731, 1734–1740)
• Ivan VI of Russia (1741)
• Elizabeth Petrovna (1743–1751, 1754, 1757–1759)
• Catherine II of Russia (1766–1773, 1775, 1783–1796)
• Paul I of Russia (1797–1800)
• Alexander I of Russia (1803–1805, 1807–1808,1810)
• Nicholas I of Russia (1839–1846, 1849–1855)
• Alexander II of Russia (1855–1881)
• Alexander III of Russia (1881–1894)
• Nicholas II of Russia (1894–1900, 1909–1910, 1915–1916)

• Glossary of Russian currency

• Gaydykov, P. G. (2015). "Полушка". In Osipov, Yu. S. (ed.). Большая российская энциклопедия. Том 27. Полупроводники — Пустыня. Moscow: Большая российская энциклопедия. p. 18. ISBN 978-5-85270-364-4.