Russia’s Central Bank has announced that it will be switching to steel coins, from copper, in an attempt to save money during the recession.

One, two and five rouble coins are to be made with steel with a nickel covering from the second quarter of 2009, said the Central Bank statement. No reason was given for the swap but, as copper fetches almost US$ 5,000 per tonne and steel is only worth US$ 400 a tonne, it’s easy to where the savings will be made.

The official statement continued, ‘The graphic design and the size of the new coins will remain unchanged.’

Devaluation has begun to show in Russia where you would need 1,000 one-kopeck coins to buy the cheapest loaf of bread in Moscow and 200 to buy a box of matches, according to a Reuters reporter.

The Central Bank has previously considered scrapping the one and five kopeck coins as it costs almost ten times more than they are worth just to produce them.