The first money in Russia. The most expensive coins of ancient Russia

Before the appearance of their coins, Roman denarii, Arab dirhams, and Byzantine solidus circulated in Russia. In addition, it was possible to pay the seller with fur. From all these things, the first Russian coins arose.

Silversmith

The first coin minted in Russia was called a silversmith. Even before the baptism of Russia, during the reign of Prince Vladimir, it was cast from the silver of Arab dirhams, in which an acute shortage began to be felt in Russia. Moreover, there were two designs of silversmiths. At first, they copied the image of the Byzantine coins of solidi: on the front side was depicted a prince sitting on a throne, and on the back - Pantokrator, i.e. Jesus Christ. Soon, silver money underwent a redesign: instead of the face of Christ, the trident of the Rurikovich family began to be minted on the coins, and a legend was placed around the portrait of the prince: “Vladimir is on the table, and behold his silver” (“Vladimir is on the throne, and this is his money”).

Zlatnik

Along with the silversmith, Prince Vladimir also minted similar coins made of gold - gold coins or gold coins. They were also made in the manner of Byzantine solidi and weighed about four grams. Despite the fact that there were quite a few of them in number - a little more than a dozen goldsmiths have survived to this day - their name is firmly entrenched in folk sayings and proverbs: the spool is small, but weighty. The spool is small, but they weigh gold, the camel is large, but they carry water. Not a share of poods, a share of spools of gold. Trouble comes in pounds, and leaves in spools.

Hryvnia

At the turn of the 9th - 10th centuries, a completely domestic monetary unit, the hryvnia, appeared in Russia. The first hryvnias were weighty ingots of silver and gold, which were more like a weight standard than money - they could measure the weight of the precious metal. Kiev hryvnias weighed about 160 grams and resembled a hexagonal ingot in shape, while Novgorod hryvnias were a long bar weighing about 200 grams. Moreover, the hryvnia was also in use among the Tatars - on the territory of the Volga region, the “Tatar hryvnia” was known, made in the form of a boat. The hryvnia got its name from a female jewelry - a gold bracelet or a hoop that was worn around the neck - the scruff of the neck or mane.

Veksha

The equivalent of the modern penny in ancient Russia was veksha. Sometimes it was called a squirrel or a veveritsa. There is a version that, along with a silver coin, a dressed winter skin of a squirrel was in circulation, which was its equivalent. Until now, there are disputes around the well-known phrase of the chronicler about what the Khazars took as tribute from the meadows, northerners and Vyatichi: a coin or a squirrel “from the smoke” (at home). To save up for a hryvnia, an ancient Russian person would need 150 vekshas.

Kuna

In the Russian lands, the eastern dirham also circulated. He, and also the European denarius, which was also popular, was called kuna in Russia. There is a version that originally the kuna was the skin of a marten, squirrel or fox with a princely brand. But there are other versions associated with the foreign origin of the name kuna. For example, among many other peoples who had a Roman denarius in circulation, there is a name for the coin that is consonant with the Russian kuna, for example, the English coin.

Rezana

The problem of accurate calculation in Russia was solved in its own way. For example, they cut the skin of a marten or other fur-bearing animal, thereby adjusting a piece of fur to one or another cost. Such pieces were called cuts. And since the fur skin and the Arab dirham were equivalent, the coin was also divided into parts. To this day, halves and even quarters of dirhams are found in ancient Russian treasures, because the Arab coin was too large for small trade transactions.

Nogata

Another small coin was the nogata - it cost about a twentieth of a hryvnia. Its name is usually associated with the Estonian nahat - fur. In all likelihood, the nogata was also originally the fur skin of some animal. It is noteworthy that in the presence of all kinds of small money, they tried to associate every thing with their own money. In the "Word of Igor's Campaign", for example, it is said that if Vsevolod were on the throne, then the slave would be the price of "a leg", and the slave - "a cut".

Every state that has arisen on this planet in any of the historical periods, eventually came to the fact that he needed something more than barter. The increase in the growth of trade and the emergence of large cities forced the rulers or communities to find a way to value this or that product. This is how commodity-money relations were formed.

The coins of Ancient Russia appeared in the Kiev principality at a time when the young state felt a vital need for this.

Money in Kievan Rus before their minting

Before the Slavic tribes united into a single great state - Kievan Rus, countries with more ancient history minted money for many centuries and conducted trade relations with each other thanks to them.

The most Russ, found on the territory of the Kiev principality, date back to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. e. and are Roman denarii. Such artifacts were found at the excavation site of ancient settlements, but the Slavs used them for payment or for jewelry, while it is not known for sure. Since trade relations between the tribes were more of an exchange nature, the real value of denarii in this territory has not been studied.

So, the coin of Ancient Russia kuna is a concept applicable, according to ancient Russian chronicles, both to Roman, Byzantine and Arab money, and to the fur of martens, which were often used to pay for goods. Fur and leather have long been the object of commodity-money relations in many countries.

Own money in Kievan Rus began to be minted only from the end of the 10th century.

Coins of Kievan Rus

The earliest coins of Ancient Rus, found on the territory of the Kiev principality, had the image of a prince on one side and a trident or two-prong coat of arms on the other. They were made of gold and silver, so in the 19th century, when studying ancient coins and describing them in the annals, they were given the name "zlatnik" and "rebrennik".

The image of Prince Vladimir on coins from 980 to 1015 had the inscription "Vladimir is on the table, and this is his silver." On the reverse side, the sign of the Rurikovich was depicted, which changed depending on who reigned.

The very first ancient Russia and the name "hryvnia" applicable to them have their own etymology. Initially, this word meant equal to the cost of one horse (mane). In the annals of those years, the category "hryvnia of silver" is mentioned. Later, when the ebb of coins from this metal began, it began to correspond to its quantity in the banknote.

Under Vladimir the Great, golden coins were minted, which weighed ~4.4 g, and pieces of silver, whose weight varied from 1.7 to 4.68 grams. In addition to the fact that these banknotes had distribution and commercial value within Kievan Rus, they were also accepted outside of it in settlements in trade. Russia was made only under Prince Vladimir, while his followers used exclusively silver for this.

The image on the obverse of the portrait of Prince Vladimir, and on the reverse - the sign of belonging to the Rurik dynasty was political in nature, as it showed the subjects of the newly united state its central power.

Banknotes of Russia 11-13th centuries

After the death of Vladimir, the coins of Ancient Russia continued to be minted by his son Yaroslav (Prince of Novgorod), known in history as the Wise.

Since Orthodoxy spread throughout the territory of the Kiev Principality, the banknotes of Yaroslav present an image not of the prince, but of St. George, whom the lord considered his personal patron. On the reverse of the coin, as before, there was a trident and an inscription that this was Yaroslav's silver. After he began to reign in Kyiv, the minting of coins ceased, and the hryvnia took the form of a silver rhombus.

The last coins of Ancient Russia (photo below - the money of Oleg Svyatoslavich) are banknotes of 1083-1094, since the subsequent historical period of this state is called coinless. At this time, it was customary to calculate the silver hryvnia, which in fact was an ingot.

There were several varieties of hryvnia, the main difference of which was in shape and weight. So, the Kyiv hryvnia looked like a rhombus with cut ends, the weight of which was ~ 160 g. Chernihiv hryvnia (a rhombus of the correct shape weighing ~ 195 g), Volga (a flat ingot of 200 g), Lithuanian (bar with notches) and Novgorod (smooth bar weighing 200 g) hryvnia.

The smallest coin of Ancient Russia still remained of European origin, since silver was not spent on a trifle. During the time of the Kiev principality, foreign money had its own name - kuna, nogata, veksha - and had its own denomination. So, in the 11-12th centuries, 1 hryvnia was equal to 20 nogats or 25 kuns, and from the end of the 12th century - 50 kuns or 100 vekshas. This is due to the rapid growth of both Kievan Rus itself and its trade relations with other countries.

There is an opinion of scientists that marten skins - kunas, and squirrels - vekshas were considered the smallest coin. One skin was equal to the twenty-fifth or fiftieth part of the hryvnia, but since the 12th century payment with fur has become obsolete, as the minting of metal kun began.

The appearance of the ruble

Since the 12th century, “chopped” money began to appear in the circulation of Kievan Rus, which was made from silver hryvnia. It was a silver rod, which included 4 “chopped” parts. Each such piece had notches indicating its weight and, accordingly, the cost.

Each ruble could be divided into 2 halves, then they were called "half". From the 13th century, all hryvnias gradually acquire the name “ruble”, and from the 14th century they began to depict the hallmarks of masters, the names of princes and various symbols.

The coins of Ancient Russia were used not only to pay for goods, but also to pay fines to the prince's treasury. So, for the murder of a free citizen, the punishment was the highest measure - “vira”, which could cost from 5 hryvnia for a smerd and up to 80 hryvnia for a noble person. For the mutilation, the court imposed a half-vira punishment. "Poklepna" - a fine for slander - was equal to 12 hryvnias.

The payment of taxes to the princely treasury was called a "bow", and the law itself, issued by Yaroslav the Wise, was called a "bow of the faithful", indicating the amount of tribute levied from each community.

Coins of Moscow Principality

The "monetless" time in Kievan Rus ended by the middle of the 14th century, when the minting of coins, called "money", began again. Often, instead of minting, silver coins of the Golden Horde were used, on which Russian symbols were embossed. Small coins made were called "half money" and "four", and copper coins were called pools.

At that time, banknotes did not yet have a generally recognized face value, although the Novgorod money produced since 1420 is already close to this. They were minted for more than 50 years unchanged - with the inscription "Veliky Novgorod".

Since 1425, “Pskov money” appeared, but a unified money system was formed only by the end of the 15th century, when 2 types of coins were adopted - Moscow and Novgorod. The basis of the denomination was the ruble, the value of which was equal to 100 Novgorod and 200 Moscow money. The silver hryvnia (204.7 g) was still considered the main monetary unit of weight, from which coins were cast for 2.6 rubles.

Only since 1530, 1 ruble received the final nominal value, which is still used today. It is equal to 100 kopecks, half a penny - 50, and hryvnia - 10 kopecks. The smallest money - altyn - was equal to 3 kopecks, 1 kopeck had a face value of 4 pennies.

Rubles were minted in Moscow, and small money - in Novgorod and Pskov. During the reign of the last of the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ivanovich, kopecks also began to be minted in Moscow. The coins acquired the same weight and image, which indicates the adoption of a single monetary system.

During the Polish and Swedish occupations, money again lost its unified appearance, but after the proclamation of the Romanov tsar in 1613, the coins acquired the same appearance with his image. From the end of 1627 it becomes the only one in the country.

Coins of other principalities

At various times they minted their own money. The production of coins became most widespread after Dmitry Donskoy issued his first money, which depicted a warrior with a saber on a horse. They were made from a thin silver rod, which was previously flattened. The craftsmen used a special tool with a prepared image - a coinage, from the impact of which on silver coins of the same size, weight and pattern were obtained.

Soon, the rider's saber was replaced by a spear, and thanks to this, the name of the coin became a "penny".

Following the Donskoy, many began to mint their own coins, depicting the ruling princes on them. Because of this, there was a discrepancy in the nominal value of money, which made it extremely difficult to conduct trade, therefore, except for Moscow, coinage was prohibited anywhere, and a single monetary system appeared in the country.

Rezana

In addition to whole ones, there was also a home-made coin in Ancient Russia, which was called "cut". It was made by cutting the dirham of the Abbasid Caliphate. The face value of the "cut" was equal to 1/20 hryvnia, and circulation continued until the 12th century. The disappearance of this coin from the space of Kievan Rus is due to the fact that the Caliphate stopped minting dirhams, and the “cut” began to be replaced by the kuna.

Coins of Russia of the 17th century

Since 1654, the main money was the ruble, half a half, half a half and altyn. There was no need for smaller coins.

Rubles in those days were made of silver, and half rubles, having similarities with them, were minted from copper to distinguish them. Half-poltins were also silver, and kopecks were copper.

A royal decree led to real inflation, commanding to equate copper trifles in value with silver, which caused food prices to rise and popular unrest began. A large uprising in 1662 in Moscow, called the "copper riot", led to the fact that the decree was canceled, and the minting of silver money was restored.

Reform of Peter 1

For the first time, a real monetary reform was carried out by Peter 1 in 1700. Thanks to her, minting of silver rubles, poltins, polupoltins, altyns, hryvnias and copper kopecks began at the mint. Gold coins were made from gold. For them, gold round blanks were made, on which inscriptions and images were applied by embossing.

There were simple (weight - 3.4 g) and double chervonets (6.8 g with the image of Peter 1 on the obverse and the double-headed eagle on the reverse). Also in 1718, a coin with the image of the denomination appeared for the first time - a two-ruble note.

Almost unchanged, these denominations lasted until the 20th century.

Coins of Kievan Rus today

Today there is:

• Zlatnikov Vladimir - 11;

• silver coins of Vladimir - more than 250;
• silver coins of Svyatopolk - about 50;
• pieces of silver of Yaroslav the Wise - 7.

The most expensive coins of Ancient Russia are the golden coins of Vladimir (over $100,000) and the silver pieces of Yaroslav the Wise ($60,000).

Numismatics

The science that studies coins is called numismatics. Thanks to her, collectors can correctly assess the historical and financial value of money. The rarest coins of Kievan Rus are on display in historical museums, where visitors can learn about the history of their minting and today's market value.

Coins in Ancient Russia are known from the 1st century. n. e., these were different coins, both of their own minting and those brought from abroad. Since ancient times, the Slavs traded with many foreigners, and therefore in Russia one could meet both Russian rubles and hryvnias, as well as German thalers and Arab dirhams. Modern historians say that money appeared in Russia in the XIV century, but at the same time, they refute themselves when they say that the Slavs traded with foreigners even before the beginning of the new era.

The first mentions of primordially Russian Slavic coins are found in the annals of Novgorod and Kyiv, where the names kuna, nogaty, rezany and hryvnia are found. Presumably 1 hryvnia kuna = 20 nogat = 25 kunam = 50 rezan = 150 veverits. Veksha (squirrel, veveritsa) - the smallest monetary unit of Ancient Russia, 1/3 gram of silver. In Russia, the so-called. Kuna system of measures, weights and money. Kuna - a silver coin (2 g of silver), the name of which comes from the skin of a marten, a popular exchange commodity. Over time, the kuna halved and amounted to 1/50 hryvnia-kuna until the beginning of the 15th century.

Trade between Russia and Rome began at the beginning of the first millennium of the new era. Treasures of silver coins with images of Roman emperors and with Latin inscriptions are often found on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus. These are Roman denarii of the 1st-3rd centuries. n. e. Since trade among the Slavs at that time was very developed, Roman denarii were used everywhere. Roman denarii is the name of the Roman silver coins of the times of the Republic and the first two centuries of the Empire, one of the most common coins in the territories under the rule or influence of Rome. The Roman denarius corresponded to the Greek drachma, therefore, Greek authors usually replace the denarius with the word drachma in stories about Roman history. The word drachma itself comes from the Assyrian (Russian) "darag-mana", i.e. dear exchange, denoting 10 grams of silver. Most likely, the Roman denarius also came from this word, because it, like the drachma, denoted a silver coin and is consonant in pronunciation. Therefore, to say that the names of Roman denarii and Greek drachmas were foreign coins for the Slavs is at least stupid. Even oriental dirhams in the VIII-IX centuries. in Russia - large silver coins with Arabic inscriptions, the name of which is also a distorted word drachma. Dirhams were minted in the Arab Caliphate, and from there Arab merchants brought them to the territory of Kievan Rus. Here the dirham received a Russian name: it was called a kuna or nogata, half a kuna - cut. 25 kunas were hryvnia kunas. At the end of the X century. in the Arab Caliphate, the minting of silver dirhams is reduced and their influx to Kievan Rus is weakening, and in the 11th century. stops completely.

Subsequently, Western European coins began to be imported to Russia, which were called the same as they were once Roman - dinars. On these thin silver coins with primitive images of rulers, the Russian names of the coins were transferred - kuns or cuts.

Russian coins were widespread - golden coins and silver coins, which were first minted in Kyiv. Archaeologists find pieces of silver I-VI centuries. The coins depicted the Grand Duke of Kyiv and a kind of state emblem in the form of a trident - the so-called sign of the Rurikids.
The inscription on the coins of Prince Vladimir (980-1015) read: “Vladimir is on the table, and this is his silver,” which means: “Vladimir is on the throne, and this is his money” (Fig. 2). For a long time in Russia the word "silver" - "silver" was equivalent to the concept of money.

In the XIII century. Muscovy was attacked by Cossacks from the Golden Order, Siberian Russia, or the so-called. Great Tartary. The reason for their campaign was the decomposition of the elite of the Moscow and western Russian principalities, their dependence on their western neighbors, Poland and Lithuania, the forced Christianization of the Rule of the glorifying Slavs who lived in Muscovy. Many capital cities of the western principalities were destroyed, trade died out. In these difficult years in Muscovy, all the coins were brought from Siberia. True, there were Kiev hryvnias, hexagonal ingots weighing about 160 g, and Novgorod ones, in the form of a long bar weighing about 200 g. In the XIV century. on the western outskirts of the Russian lands, “Prague pennies” minted in the Czech Republic circulated, and on the eastern outskirts, in the current Ryazan, Gorky, Vladimir regions, there were eastern dirhems - small silver coins without images, with Arabic inscriptions.

Since the 12th century, the main Russian monetary unit has appeared - the ruble, the name of which is still alive. Rubles were parts of the hryvnia or pieces of silver with notches indicating their weight. Each hryvnia was divided into four parts; the name ruble comes from the word “cut”, because a silver rod worth a hryvnia was cut into four parts, which were called rubles. Ruble began to be called the Novgorod silver ingot, and half of the silver ingot - half. In the XIV century. one of the first to start minting was the Moscow principality under the famous Prince Dmitry Donskoy (1359-1389). On the coins of this prince, we see the image of a warrior with a battle ax in his hands, next to it is the name of the prince - Dmitry. The inscription is made in Russian letters. But the other side of the coin imitates the Siberian money that was in circulation in Siberia, Great Tartaria. Until now, in Central Asia, there are heirs of Russian Siberian coins - tenge in Kazakhstan and tegreg in Mongolia.

The coins of various principalities differed from each other in both weight and appearance.
On the Novgorod coins, the laconic inscription read: “Great Novgorod”. On the coins of Pskov was placed the inscription: "Money Pskov". On the coins of Novgorod and Pskov, we do not see princely names, since the supreme power in these cities belonged to the vech. On the coins of the Ryazan principality, a peculiar coat of arms of the principality was depicted, the meaning of which has not yet been unraveled, and the name of the ruling prince. On Tver coins there are scenes of hunting.
The main Russian silver coin of the XIV-XV centuries. became money; this word, somewhat modified (money), has received a broader meaning in Russian.

In addition to silver coins, in some large cities coins were minted from copper - pools. There is a copper coin with the image of a bird and the inscription: "Moscow Poolo". Silver and copper coins were minted from wire, which was cut into pieces of a certain weight (less than 1 g).
These pieces of wire, previously flattened, were minted with chasings, on which images and inscriptions were carved.

As the Russian principalities united into a single state, the diversity in weight and appearance of Russian coins began to impede trade. In 1534, a monetary reform was carried out in the Russian centralized state. Three money yards were left: Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod, where only one type of national coin was minted.

These were kopecks, money (1/2 kopeck) and polushkas (1/4 kopeck). The kopecks depicted a rider with a spear (hence the name “penny”) and the inscription: “The Tsar and the Great Prince Ivan of All Russia”, on the money - a horseman with a saber and the inscription: “The Tsar and the Great Prince Ivan”, on the half - a bird and the word "sovereign". 100 kopecks were a ruble, 50 - half a penny, 10 - a hryvnia, 3 - altyn, however, all monetary units, except for a penny, money and polushka, were only counting concepts.

From 1534, Russian coins remained unchanged until the end of the 17th century. Only the names of the kings in the inscriptions changed.
From that time to the present day, the counting system has been preserved (100 kopecks make up the ruble) and the names of the main monetary units (our ruble, fifty kopecks - 50 kopecks, five-kopeck pieces - 15 kopecks, dime - 10 kopecks, kopeck).

During the years of the Polish-Swedish intervention at the beginning of the 17th century. Russian monetary system experienced a severe shock. The invaders proclaimed the Polish prince Vladislav the Russian tsar and began to mint coins of very low weight with his name in Moscow.
In Yaroslavl, the government of the Home Guard under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky, in opposition to the coins of the interventionists, minted coins with the name of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, who died back in 1598, the last legitimate tsar of the Rurik dynasty.

In 1613, after the election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne, the former monetary system was restored.

In 1654, the minting of large denominations began - rubles, half a half, half a half, altyns, since small coins were inconvenient for large trade settlements. In Russia, the penny was first minted in 1654, under Alexei Mikhailovich, and was equal to 2 kopecks. Rubles were minted from silver, similar to them - from copper, half-and-a-half - from silver; then the so-called efimki with a sign appeared - Western European thalers with an overmarked stamp and date -1655. Efimok is the Russian name for the Western European silver thaler. The name "efimok" comes from the name of the first thalers minted in the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia (now Jachymov in the Czech Republic) - Joachimsthaler. These coins began to be imported into Russia in large quantities starting from the 16th century and were used as raw materials for minting their own silver coins. The population was reluctant to use this unusual money, it was difficult to mint them.

Soon they began to mint copper kopecks, which in appearance did not differ from silver ones. Copper kopecks were equated with silver by order of the government. This was very beneficial for the treasury and disadvantageous for the people. At that time there was a war with Poland, the people suffered from general economic ruin. Money depreciated, food became very expensive, famine began in the country.
In 1662, a popular uprising broke out in Moscow, which went down in history under the name "copper riot".

The frightened government in 1663 abolished the new money. The minting of silver kopecks, money and half coins was resumed.
Only at the beginning of the 18th century, under Peter I, were Russian coins finally changed. From 1700-1704 they began to mint silver rubles, half a half (560 kopecks), half a half (25 kopecks), hryvnias (hryvnias, 10 kopecks), altyns (3 kopecks), copper kopecks, polushki and semipolushki. Chervonets, 10 rubles, were minted from gold. They were minted not from wire, as in the XIV-XVII centuries, but on special coin blanks - mugs. In this form, the Russian monetary system existed without any significant changes until the 20th century.

Money from the yellow precious metal appeared in Russia more than a thousand years ago. The first coins of "own production", minted from gold, appeared in our country in the 10-11th century, during the time of Prince Vladimir, known to us as "Red Sun". On all the coins of this period, the influence of Byzantine art is noticeable. On the front side, the Grand Duke was usually depicted with a trident (this was the “crown” symbol of the Kiev princes), on the reverse side there was an image of Christ the Savior with the Gospel in his hand.

Zlotnik of Prince Vladimir.

In those days, there was a heyday of Kievan Rus, and it is clear that in order to raise prestige among the people and neighboring states, gold coins were minted. But then came a difficult period - the Tatar invasion, civil strife, unrest. All this naturally led to the fact that the treasury of even the richest princes was empty. Accordingly, until the end of the 15th century, a gold coin was not minted in Russia.

The production of their own coins by re-coining (mainly from Hungarian) began under the Moscow Grand Dukes Mikhail Fedorovich, Ivan III Vasilyevich. Interestingly, most often these coins were not in use, but were issued as a reward for military merit.

Mikhail Fedorovich. Complained gold in three quarters of Ugric.

The tradition of minting gold kopecks and gold coins continued under the tsars. On the coins of Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible, the double-headed eagle was placed on both sides of the coin. The son of Ivan IV, Fyodor Ivanovich, on one side of the coins placed an inscription with his title, on the other - a double-headed eagle or horseman.

Fedor Alekseevich (1676-1682). Award gold in two Ugric. Novodel.

Similar types of coins were minted by False Dmitry, Vasily Shuisky, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. Alexei Mikhailovich minted a double gold piece with his belt image.

Pre-reform coins of Peter I, Ivan and Sophia were both with images of co-rulers, and simply with double-headed eagles on both sides.

Ivan, Peter, Sophia. Award gold in one Ugric for the Crimean campaign of 1687

Under Peter I, everything changed. Gold coins came into use as they began to be minted on an industrial scale. So, they were minted according to a strict pattern, and their denomination under Peter I was unusual. Since 1701, the first Russian emperor ordered the minting of 1 ducat and 2 ducats.

The fact is that initially a large number of these coins were minted from Western gold ducats. The weight of 1 ducat fluctuated, but, as a rule, was 6-7 grams. Their difference from modern money was that its denomination was not indicated on the coin. But the Russian people found a more familiar name for such "ducats" and began to call one ducat a chervonets, and two ducats a double chervonets.

Dukat of Peter I.

Since 1718, Peter I issued 2 gold rubles. His wife Catherine I during her reign also issued only a two-ruble note made of gold. By the way, the circulation was limited and reached about 9 thousand copies. Therefore, today for a two-ruble coin of Catherine I Alekseevna, you can get from 90 to 900 thousand rubles.

Two rubles in gold. Ekaterina Alekseevna.

During the reign of Peter II, gold coins were minted without a denomination, but out of habit they were called chervonets. The same thing happened with Anna Ioannovna. For a coin with a portrait of this autocrat, today you can get from 35 thousand to 2 million rubles (depending on the year and the image on the coin).

Chervonets Anna Ioannovna. 1730

In the short reign of the infant John IV, gold coins were not minted: they simply, probably, did not have time in a few months.

Further, when Elizaveta Petrovna came to power, the production of gold money finally revived. In addition to the standard chervonets with a portrait of the Empress, a double chervonets was issued. There were also half a ruble, 1 ruble, 2 rubles. Then, in 1755, the imperial (10 rubles) and semi-imperial (5 rubles) were added to these coins. On the new coins, instead of the double-headed eagle on the reverse, there is a cross of four patterned shields connected by a fifth. On the first four - coats of arms and symbols of the cities of the Russian Empire, and in the central shield - a double-headed eagle with a scepter and orb. The imperials were most often used for foreign trade operations.

Imperial of Elizabeth Petrovna. 1756

Among this abundance, Peter III left only the usual gold coins, as well as imperial and semi-imperial. After the story of the overthrow of her husband, Catherine II ordered that all coins with the portrait of Peter III be re-minted into coins of the same denomination, but with her name and portrait. Therefore, coins from the time of Peter III are very rare and highly valued. There is evidence that at auctions they go for amounts starting from several tens of thousands of dollars.

Paul I, son of Catherine II, initiated a new tradition. Money was now minted without a portrait of the emperor. He left an imperial, a semi-imperial and a gold ducat. They looked unusual.

Pavel's chervonets. 1797

Under Alexander I, the tradition continued. Only the imperial (10 rubles) and the semi-imperial (5 rubles) remained among the “gold”. After the victory over Napoleon in 1813, Poland became part of Russia. In this regard, since 1816, Alexander I began minting coins (for Poland) at the Warsaw Mint. From gold were 50 and 25 zł.

50 zlotys with a portrait of Alexander I. 1818

Nicholas I left the imperials, but became famous for the fact that he began to mint coins ... from platinum! These were the first platinum coins in the world issued for everyday circulation. They were issued in denominations of 3, 6 and 12 rubles. Then, by the way, platinum was not considered expensive and cost 2.5 times cheaper than gold. It had just been discovered in 1819, and its extraction was very cheap. In this regard, the government, fearing massive fakes, withdrew platinum coins from circulation. And more money from platinum has never been minted in Russia. And all the scrap coins - 32 tons - were sold to England. And this country has long been a monopoly on this metal. Today, platinum coins of Nicholas I can be sold at auctions for 3-5 million rubles.

Platinum 6 rubles of Nicholas I. 1831

Let's get back to gold. The successor of Nicholas I, Alexander II, the most democratic tsar and the liberator of the peasantry, minted only semi-imperials and also introduced 3 rubles in gold. There were reforms in the country, special money for minting gold was not provided. Apparently, that's why the denominations have decreased.

3 rubles in gold. Alexander II. 1877

Alexander III left coins of the same denomination, but returned the imperial - 10 rubles. And he ordered to mint his portrait on it. So the tradition of portrait chervonets resumed. The technical characteristics of the gold coin are changing - they become thicker, but of a smaller diameter. Gold coins of Alexander III are sold at auctions for amounts of 7-20 thousand dollars.

Imperial of Alexander III. 1894

Further, we have only the golden times of the infamous last Tsar Nicholas II. Coins of 5 and 10 rubles are still carried to the buyers of the old woman, who knows where they have been preserved until now. And the search engines dream of seeing the golden sheen of this particular royal profile in the hole just dug.

Golden chervonets of Nicholas II.

The weight of a gold coin with a face value of 10 rubles before Nicholas 2 was 12.9 grams. After the Nikolaev monetary reform, the weight of a gold coin with a face value of 10 rubles was reduced by one and a half times and amounted to 8.6 grams. Therefore, gold coins became more accessible and their circulation increased.

In the new lightweight "Nikolaev" weight, gold 15 rubles and 7 rubles 50 kopecks were minted. At the same time, their cost is low, as well as the cost of "Nikolaev" chervonets - about 20 thousand rubles. But they are found more often than all the other coins put together, and the chance to find them on a detect is also higher.

There are also "gift" coins from the time of Nicholas II. These coins were minted for the personal gift fund of Nicholas 2. The dates of their minting suggest that 25 rubles in 1896 were minted specifically for the coronation, and 25 rubles in 1908 - for the 40th anniversary of Nicholas 2. The price of such gold coins reaches 120-150 thousand dollars.

Following the donative (gift) coins, one can distinguish a completely unusual, unparalleled, gold coin with a face value of 37 rubles 50 kopecks - 100 francs of 1902. According to some assumptions, in this way, Nicholas 2 wanted to commemorate the Franco-Russian union, however, another part of numismatists is more inclined to believe that 37 rubles 50 kopecks - 100 francs were intended for use in the casino system. At the price of such a "gold" today at auctions can be found for 40-120 thousand dollars.

The history of the last gold royal chervonets deserves a separate story.

You will learn about it in the next article.

Coins of medieval Russia

Russian lands in the Middle Ages did not know not only their own gold and silver, but even their own copper. Not a single deposit was explored until the 17th century, and serious industrial development began only in the 18th century. Until that time, all Russian coins, jewelry, utensils were created by our craftsmen from imported metals. These metals came primarily from a colossal influx of foreign money - in the form of trade duties and payments for wax, timber, hemp, and furs.

In the 9th-11th centuries, international trade routes of paramount importance passed through the territory of Ancient Russia. Russian cities grew rich thanks to their own merchant enterprises, as well as taxes levied on the Scandinavians, Arabs, Byzantines, and guests from Western Europe. In the vastness of Russia, there are countless treasures and burials containing foreign coins. Arabian thin dirhems, Byzantine gold solids, silver milliarisiums, copper follices, rough Western European denarii... Other people's money was widely used in any transactions, it was in the order of things.
But in the era of the heyday of the Old Russian state, this seemed not enough to the Kiev rulers. Prince Vladimir the Holy, who baptized Russia at the end of the 10th century, decided to start his own coin. She had, firstly, to confirm the dominance of the ruling dynasty and, secondly, to acquaint her subjects with the symbols of a new religion for them. At the same time, as a real means of payment, coins of local issue had to resemble in appearance the long-familiar money of neighbors that had come into circulation.

ZLATNIKI AND SREBRENIKI

The first Russian coins made of gold and silver - gold coins and silver coins - were issued for a short time, only a few decades at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. Less than three and a half hundred of them have survived, with the absolute majority being pieces of silver. They were made under the princes Vladimir the Holy, Svyatopolk the Accursed, Yaroslav the Wise. Zlatniks were actually copied from the Byzantine solidi - a coin that was widespread in circulation at that time. The situation is much more complicated with pieces of silver. Their large thin disk resembles Arabic dirhams. But the images on them (with local corrections, of course) date back to the Greek cultural tradition that gave Russia Christianity. St. Vladimir minted his portrait on pieces of silver - with a long mustache, with a scepter, a ruler's crown and a halo. On the other side is the Lord, who makes a blessing gesture with his right hand, and holds the Holy Scripture in his left.

Vladimir's Srebreniki were obviously made by Kiev masters, and this work was new to them. The technique of making coins remained imperfect, and the design remained primitive. So, small legs were added to the half-length image of Prince Vladimir, and it turned into a full-length one. Probably, otherwise the subjects could be indignant: why was their sovereign "chopped off" half of the body? For the Byzantines, the half-length portrait of the emperor on coins was quite familiar, but in Russia it caused misunderstanding ... Subsequently, the image of God was replaced with a generic sign of the ruling dynasty - a trident, the appearance of which changed among Vladimir's successors.

Slate spindles. XI-XIII centuries
Slate whorls are found at the excavations of medieval Russian cities almost as often as ceramics. They were put on the tip of the spindle, preventing the thread from slipping off it. However, like many other items (axes, shovels, ornaments), the whorl began to function as money when coins fell out of use for one reason or another. On the whorls one can sometimes see the scratched names of the owners or notches, possibly meaning "value".

The best examples of pieces of silver were made in Novgorod the Great, when Yaroslav Vladimirovich reigned there, later nicknamed the Wise. On the side of the piece of silver there is an image of St. George, the Christian patron of Prince Yaroslav, and on the other side there is a trident and a circular inscription: "Yaroslavl silver." Novgorod srebreniki differ from most Kiev you in the quality of the image and the proportionality of the composition. These coins are more like jewelry - medallions, pendants were the pinnacle of ancient Russian monetary art, unsurpassed: for 700 years, until the Petrine era. Modern historians write about them with admiration: “It would not be an exaggeration to recognize these as a masterpiece of monetary art for all of Europe and Byzantium at the beginning of the 11th century. The stamp maker was an outstanding master ..,”.

Arabic dirhams

These largeth silver coins look like caps from kefir bottles - they have a thin disk. Noneimagesamenuy, only inscriptions, but the quality of the coinage is such that you can easily read the namecities, gde coin was issued, and the year it was born. Dirhams were issued throughoutmanycenturies In the IX-XI centuries. they circulated in a vast area from Central Asia toIrelandand from Norway to Egypt… Well, these coins deserve a lot of respect: proofsilverthey changed very slowly. Thus, dirhams played a role exclusivelynajenoh currency: everywhere and everywhere people trusted their "good quality".

Several trade arteries of international importance passed through the lands of Ancient Russia. Accordingly, in all major Russian cities, the “most current” coin of the early Middle Ages, the Arabic dirham, settled. Historians know many treasures, consisting of tens, hundreds and even thousands of dirhams. The most significant of them was found in 1973 near Polotsk, near the village of Kozyanki. It consists of 7660 dirhams of the Arab Caliphate of the 10th century. The total weight of the treasure is about 20 kilograms! Scientists believe that this is the treasury of the Polotsk principality, for some reason lost, perhaps stolen.

Sometimes the dirham turned out to be too large a means of payment, and then the coin was cut into pieces. Surprisingly, each part was trusted as much as the whole dirham. In Russian sources of that time, Arab "guests" are called nogats, and their slightly "lighter" version - kuns. The halved kuna-dirham was called the characteristic word "reza".

The weight and fineness of the pieces of silver "walked" over a wide range. We see international trade or payments to mercenaries, coins of a high standard were specially issued, that is, with a high content of pure silver. These are a minority. The rest contain a lower percentage of silver. A lot of pieces of silver are basically, paradoxically, copper! This copper was only weakly "ennobled" by an insignificant silver impurity, or, as numismatists say, "traces of silver." Copper pieces of silver make up about 70-80% of the total, and high-grade ones - less than 5%. This is not surprising: in the absence of our own reserves of precious metals, we had to be cunning and save ...
The issue of the first Russian coins itself testifies to the favorable state of trade and the wealth of the Russian princes of that time. But this prosperity did not last long. First, the powerful flow of eastern silver, which enriched Russia, dried up, then the trade routes changed, and, finally, the time came for the political fragmentation of Russia, devastating for the country ...

ATXIV-XVIIIcenturiesPoltina was produced only in the form of a bar of silver and was equal to half a rubleingot, siltand ruble. Until 1656, a half was a monetary unit of 50 kopecks, or 5 hryvnias.hryvnia in it inThe time was used as a measure of the weight of precious metals. Distinguished large hryvniaweighing 409.32 gand a small hryvnia, weighing 204. Poltina, introduced by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich,containeda high percentage of copper and after the Copper Riot of 1662 was withdrawn from circulation.

COIN FREE PERIOD

Silver ingot-half. Second half of the 14th century
Western European silver coins still continued to arrive in Russia. But in the XII century. and this "river became shallow": the money "spoiled". Now too little silver was added to them, and the international trade of that time was “disdainful” of poor-quality coin. So it did not reach the Russian lands and principalities.
In Russia, the so-called coinless period was established. It lasted throughout the 12th, 13th and most of the 14th centuries. Even during the reign of the Horde, eastern silver coins were not widely used in our country. In addition, silver, not having time to accumulate, left Russia along with other tribute - “exit”.

Money and l and denga began to be minted in the last quarter of the 14th century. Her weight was 0.93 g. silver and corresponded to 1/200 silver hryvnia. It is believed that the decision to mint sobs tvennuyu money in the Moscow principality was associated with the struggle of Dmitry Donskoy against the Tatars. The defeat inflicted on Dmitry Tokhtamysh, who burned Moscow in 1381, forced put the name of this Tatar ruler on Moscow money. Need to mark, that some of the specific princes of that time also bore the name Dmitry and minted him on his coins. This makes it difficult for numismatists to determine the ownership of that or otherwise th money.

In addition to silver hryvnias, fur money was widely used during the coinless period. These were the skins or skins of fur-bearing animals, most often martens. From the fur of this animal got the name kuna - one skin, exchanged for a certain amount of goods. The skins of fur-bearing animals were part of the tribute and embassy gifts. Until the end of the XVII century. Russian diplomats abroad preferred to pay with furs rather than silver coins.
Bilateral icon “Michael the Archangel. John the Baptist." Moscow. 15th century

The time for coins is over. It's time for the hryvnia... This was the name given to silver bars of a certain weight and shape. However, in different Russian cities - Veliky Novgorod, Chernigov, Kyiv - the weight and shape of hryvnias differed. Sometimes they were elongated hexagons, sometimes hexagons with flattened edges, sometimes rods round in cross section, similar to short wands.
Only in the last third of the XIV century. the coin returned to Russia. It is difficult to determine the exact date when the first minting since the time of the princes Svyatopolk and Yaroslav began. The year was not indicated on the coins at that time, and the annals very poorly cover the monetary business of the Russian Middle Ages. According to historians of monetary circulation, the pioneers in the renewal of coinage were two principalities - Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod under Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich (1365-1383) and Moscow under Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (1362-1389).

COINS OF SPECIFIC RUSSIA

The whole mass of Russian silver money issued in the XIV-XV centuries is distinguished by rough workmanship and extreme variegation of appearance. Coins were made in Moscow, Novgorod the Great and Nizhny, Pskov, Tver, Ryazan, Rostov, as well as in many small towns.
In addition to the well-known rulers of the Russian land, little-known and completely poor specific princes minted their coins: Serpukhov, Mikulin, Kolomna, Dmitrovsk, Galician, Borovsk, Kashin ...
All Russian coins of that time had a mandatory designation - who made the decision to issue them: the name of the prince or the name of the city-state (as numismatists say, the owner of the coin regalia). In all other respects, the money of different state formations of Russia was very different from each other. This is not surprising: until the 20s. 16th century Russian lands were not united and each ruler was completely politically independent. Therefore) 'a variety of coats of arms, signs, inscriptions were placed on the coins - to the taste of the "customer" and, accordingly, to the demands of the current policy.
At the end of the XIV - the first half of the XV century. dependence on the Horde khans was still quite tangible, and on the coins of many issues there are Arabic inscriptions, including the names of the Tatar rulers. So, under the great Moscow princes Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy and Vasily I Dmitrievich, the name of Khan Tokhtamysh repeatedly appeared on their coins. Subsequently, as Russia was liberated from Horde dependence, the illegible Arabic script gradually disappears.
According to the historian German Fedorov-Davydov, the images on Russian coins of the 14th - early 16th centuries. “still enigmatic.

Here we have a dragon in front of us, here is a kitovras centaur, then suddenly horsemen with birds appear - falconry, now with a spear, now with a sword, sometimes a head under the horse's feet. Here on the coin are two people with daggers facing each other, or two people are holding some kind of stick between them; we see either a man with a horse, or a bust of a warrior in a helmet with a sword, or a warrior with a sword and shield. An unlimited field for the imagination of a numismatist. The princes of the Moscow house preferred to mint on their money a rooster, a leopard and a rider, who later became the coat of arms of the Muscovite state.
The best quality and rustic beauty in the general flow of Russian silver are the coins of Novgorod the Great (minting began in 1420) and Pskov (minting began around 1425). The first depicted two people - one in a proud pose, with a sword or staff, and the other in the pose of a humiliated petitioner, subordinate. On the second, a portrait of the Pskov prince-hero Dovmont was minted.

"SCALES" OF THE MOSCOW STATE

In the 70s. XV - 20s 16th century there is a rapid unification of Russia. The powerful Muscovite state is rising to replace the “patchwork quilt” of the times of political fragmentation of the country. It includes one by one the previously independent principalities and lands. Accordingly, year after year, the motley variety of Russian coins decreases: coin silver is unified. In the 30s. In the 16th century, the last "act" of this "play" took place. The Boyar Council under the supreme ruler Elena Glinskaya carried out large-scale reforms). Since then, and for 170 years, a single silver coin has circulated in the Muscovite state.

STAROMOSKOVSKAYA POLUSHKA

In the Moscow state, an ultra-small coin was issued - a half (a quarter of a kopeck). Even the nail on the little finger of a child surpasses it in size. She weighed negligibly little - 0.17 g, and subsequently "lost weight" to 0.12 grams! On one side of the pillow was the word "king" (or "sovereign"). There was clearly not enough space for a full-fledged image of the “rider”, and on the other side, instead of the rider, a simple bird was minted. Initially, it was a dove, but later it was replaced by a barely visible double-headed eagle.

GOLD - IN THE SECOND ROLES

Gold from the time of Saint Vladimir to the beginning of the 18th century. almost never used for coinage, and copper, until the era of Peter the Great, gave way to silver as the main monetary material. There is a unique case of issuing a gold coin in Russia, made according to European models: this is the so-called Ugric (Hungarian) gold coin from the time of Ivan III. Its history still raises questions among researchers, and among collectors it is considered the rarest coin. In addition, in the XVI and XVII centuries. gold coins were often issued, in everything similar to ordinary pennies. They were used as medals: they were awarded to soldiers who distinguished themselves during the fighting.

This old Moscow coin is outwardly simple and unsightly. On one side is a rider with a spear or sword, most likely depicting a ruler. The old name "rider" stuck behind him. On the other side is the name of the sovereign ("Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vsea Rusin", "Tsar and Grand Duke Boris Fedorovich", "Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich" ...). Old Moscow silver is very monotonous, it has never happened before and will never happen again. Rare specific features of individual coins barely distinguish them from the general unity - the designation with two or three letters of the year or city where they were minted: Moscow, Tver, Novgorod the Great, Pskov, Yaroslavl ... In the Middle Ages in Russia, years were designated using a special number, where numbers are represented by letters. Under Peter I, this custom was abolished. But on the silver kopecks of Russian sovereigns, the year of issue was far from always indicated.
Nowadays, old Moscow silver coins are called the ironic word "flakes". They really do look like fish scales. They were made of thin silver wire, so the "flakes" are not round: they are oval or teardrop-shaped. Minted in the Muscovite state a coin of extremely small denominations and small size. The main unit of account was the so-called money. Two money was equal to one kopeck, and 0.5 money - half a penny.
Six money was altyn, 100 - half a 7, and 200 - a ruble.

The peculiarity of the old Moscow monetary system was that altyn, half a ruble, although they were counting units, they were never minted! Russian people looked at large European coins of the taler type with suspicion. And this suspicion, by the way, was justified. A simple Russian kopeck contained “good” high-grade silver, next to which thaler metal could not stand any comparison. Foreign merchants constantly provided low-grade thalers for remelting at the mints, wanting to get the corresponding amount of Russian coins. This process required long, complex recalculations and caused conflicts from time to time.
The government tried to support the high standard of the old Moscow coin in every possible way, but its weight gradually decreased. Under Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584), money weighed 0.34 g, and under Fyodor Alekseevich (1676-1682) it was already one and a half times less ... Of course, the coins not only became lighter, but also decreased in size. And this created additional difficulties. It was very difficult to place all the words of the inscription on a small uneven plate and correctly position the rider. Often there are "scales" with a headless "rider" and half a legend: everything else did not fit on the coin. The last old Moscow kopecks were minted under Peter I: their minting continued until 1718. It is extremely difficult to read anything on them other than a few letters of the sovereign's name and patronymic.

The so-called silver kopeck of Fyodor Godunov (obverse, reverse). 1605
This coin is a mute witness to the Time of Troubles. It appeared at the time of the interregnum of Boris Godunov (1599-1605) and the impostor False Dmitry I (1605-1606). The throne was supposed to pass to the son of Boris Godunov - Fedor, who died as a result of a boyar conspiracy. A coin with his name was minted for a little over three months, from April 13 to July 7, 1605.

MONSTERS COMING TO EUROPE

The government tried to remedy the situation. So, for example, under Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), the first ruble coin was issued. However, not quite under Alexei Mikhailovich, not quite ruble and not even completely released. Russia did not know a more strange coin!

For the minting of rubles, the government ordered the use of European thalers. They were called in Russia efimki (after the name of the city of Poakhimstal) or tarels. Indeed, a whole handful of “flakes” could fit on a large coin disk of a thaler - like seeds on a plate. So, “native” images were knocked down from the Efimki, and then new ones were applied to them, first of all - a portrait of the king on a horse and with a scepter in his hand. True, there was 64 kopecks worth of silver in the thaler, and the government tried to put it into circulation as a full-fledged 100-kopeck ruble. The population quickly figured out the deception, and nothing good came of this adventure. This deceptive "ruble" has survived to this day in a very small number of copies. Subsequently, efimka still managed to be used, but in a much more modest and honest way. They were simply overmarked: they put the designation of the year (1655) and the “rider”, exactly like on domestic kopecks. They called such a coin "Efimka with a sign", and it went at a fair price of 64 kopecks.

A scattering of Russian coins "flakes". 16th - early 18th centuries

WITNESSES OF THE COPPER REVOLT

Small coins were made from copper). It was called "pool". Pools were much less popular than silver money, and were issued very limitedly. The government of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, known for its adventurous projects in the financial sector, decided to give copper a radically new role. There was a difficult war with the Commonwealth, the front constantly demanded money: foreign mercenaries, if their salaries were not paid, could simply disrupt the next military operation. Under these conditions, a "bizarre reform" of Russian money began: instead of silver "scales", the government organized a huge emission (issue) of copper - of the same size and the same price. Also, pretty poor quality. The “trick” was that taxes and taxes were collected from the population in silver, and copper was used for government payments. The rate of copper kopecks relative to silver ones rapidly went down. First, for one silver they gave five copper ones, then ten and, finally, fifteen! Unrest began among the people. And in July 1662, the Russian capital breaks out in an uprising. A crowd of townspeople, utterly furious, smashes the houses of the boyars, and then heads to Kolomenskoye, the tsar's summer residence. There was not enough security to disperse the rebels, and Alexei Mikhailovich found himself face to face with angry Moscow. A careless word could cost him his life. Fortunately, government regiments arrived in time and dispersed the rebellion, later called Copper. However, the danger of new performances was considered so serious that the copper coin was canceled in 1663. In the specified order, it was collected and melted down, but it was not possible to collect the entire mass, and many small witnesses of the Copper Riot have survived to this day.

Peter 1 carried out a different reform, completely replacing the old Moscow monetary system with a new one, according to the European model. For a modern person, it looks familiar, and it seems that the small pennies of the times of Ivan the Terrible and Mikhail Fedorovich obviously lose to the post-reform Peter's coins. However, we must also remember something else: counting “scales” by weight, and wearing (especially transporting over long distances) was incomparably more convenient than beautiful, but bulky coppers of the Russian Empire ...