Your money's no good here

So on Friday, I rode the metro to a nearby market in pursuit of raspberries.  I had tons of change in my purse, so I decided to use it to pay my fare (52 rubles, or about $1.68, round trip).  The ticket ladies, I've found, tend to be pretty sour people, second only to the women who collect money at the port-a-potties (entry fee: about 65 cents).  I certainly don't begrudge the port-a-potty ladies their attitude, but I digress.

Anyway, I must have really pissed off the ticket lady when I shoved a fistful of change through the slot.  She glared at me, sorted the change, and then passed me back a two-ruble coin (about 6.5 cents).  "People won't take this," she said.  Now, it's common in these parts for stores to refuse badly crumpled, ripped, or otherwise marred bills, but I've never had a coin rejected before.  I countered that it was money all the same, but she wouldn't budge, nor hand over my ticket until I'd replaced the offending token.  In case you are wondering what it looked like, there's a photo.  The bad "penny" is on the bottom.  An acceptable one is on top.