The first Russian coins and their history. Russian coins value

Surely each of you had or has a small home library with collected works of your favorite writers. And I, as a numismatist, also have my own shelf with catalogs of coins and literature related to this hobby. Relatively long ago, they sent me a small catalog of coins of Kievan Rus as a gift. I was surprised that I hadn’t even heard of such coins, and the price of them was certainly astonishing, so today I will share my knowledge with you.

Zlatniki

After adopting the Christian faith, Vladimir the Great initiated the minting of his own coins, which were to be circulated on the lands under his control. Coinage at that time, like many other things, was carried out according to the Byzantine model. Two types of coins were issued into circulation: gold coins and silver pieces of silver. The images on them were almost identical to those that adorn the solids of the Byzantine emperors Basil II of the Macedonian dynasty and Constantine VIII.

Byzantine solidus depicting emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII

At the present time, only 11 varieties of goldsmiths of Prince Vladimir the Great are known. They differ from each other in obverse. Most of them are kept in the Hermitage.

Approximately 6 out of 11 coins were minted by the same master, this is indicated by the presence on the obverse of the inscription "Vladimir on the table" or "Vladimir, and this is his gold", where the prince is depicted with a scepter and a crown on his head; above it is the Rurik family coat of arms - a trident, the reverse depicts Jesus Christ.

Zlatnik Vladimir the Great

These are very rare coins, which is explained by the fact that it was the first money that began to be minted in Kievan Rus, since before that most of the coins in circulation were either Byzantine solidi or Arab dirhams.

The meaning of the release of the original goldsmiths has not yet been clarified. Perhaps this was a consequence of political influence on the part of Byzantium, or it was intended to emphasize the independence of Russia as a separate state. The first version may be indirectly supported by the fact that Vladimir took the Byzantine princess Anna as his wife.

Two types of goldsmiths with the image of Prince Vladimir (obverse)

Nothing was known about the circulation of money in Kievan Rus until 1815. In 1815, a collector bought the coin from a certain G. Bunge, who, in turn, acquired it from a soldier in Kiev. After this discovery, the Byzantine coins began to be revised in the Hermitage, which helped to understand that there was a coinage business in Kievan Rus, however, minting could not boast of the same long history as Byzantium.

Srebreniki

Together with the minting of gold coins, minting of silver coins was carried out. Most of the silver coins found were made by the craftsmen who minted gold coins. The money differed only in alloy, and the stamping of images and letters on them was identical.

There are several subspecies of silver coins in fineness - 800 and 300 samples of silver, and, strangely enough, there were much more high-quality specimens of 800 samples! High-quality coins are now often found outside the approximate borders of Kievan Rus, and low-quality ones - within the borders. It seems that sonorous silver went abroad, and traders carried out their deals with 800 coins, which were minted from Arab silver; and within the state, coins of a lower standard of 300 were circulated.

Srebrenik of Vladimir the Great from Arabian silver

After the gold coins were issued, Russian masters began to mint coins closer to the Arab dirhams, which gave the definition for further coin issues. Roughly speaking, they refused to issue coins of the Byzantine type.

There are four types of silver coins issued during the reign of Vladimir the Great.

The first type is characterized by changes in images and legends both on the obverse and on the reverse. On the reverse, instead of the image of Christ, there is a princely patrimonial sign - a trident, and also two inscriptions are combined into one: "Vladimir is on the table, and this is his silver." This made it possible to get rid of Byzantine motives. In the future, Vladimir's successors used only such a minting scheme.

Srebrenik (first type)

For the second type, some changes were also added: the "portrait" of the prince was slightly enlarged, a halo was added over his head, dressed in chain mail and placed on the throne. On the reverse, nothing has changed, the craftsmen only added expressiveness to the trident. Better specimens of this type of silver coins were found in Germany and Poland.

The third type differed from the second in that the halo was removed, the prince was enlarged even more, he held the scepter with both hands. The quality of the minting was noticeably higher.

Srebrenik (third type)

And on coins of type 4, the prince is fully depicted on his throne, his face and parts of his clothes are minted in more detail, a halo appears again over his head.

Srebrenik (fourth type)

During the reign of Prince Vladimir, silver coins were minted on the territory of Kiev, later the business was continued by his son Svyatopolk. Yaroslav the Wise minted the same pieces of silver in Novgorod. The coins did not change their appearance, only the inscriptions, naming the princes, changed. These coins did not play a large role in the country's economy; they were, basically, a symbol of the power of a prince, a ruler. They also paid off with foreign hired soldiers.

This is where the story about the goldsmiths and silver coins of Vladimir the Baptist can be ended. I will only add that to find such a rarity is definitely a great success!

If you ask yourself what the most ancient coins of Russia will be, then the answer may be quite surprising. It turns out that the most ancient coins that archaeologists have found where the lands of the Kiev principality stretched were Roman denarii, issued in the period from four hundred to a hundred years BC. However, it is not at all a fact that they were used for buying or selling. Most likely, metal mugs with intricate designs were much more popular as components of jewelry. This fact will not seem surprising to those who represent the nature of commodity relations of that time. At a time when ships and caravans of merchants followed busy trade routes, Russia was away from these routes. Natural exchange flourished on her lands. Only from the moment of the enlargement of settlements and the emergence of cities did it become necessary to have a certain universal equivalent of the value of any commodity, facilitating most exchange operations.

As the tree has its origin in the roots, so the genealogy of the coins of Ancient Russia can be extended from the hryvnia. The original hryvnia can hardly be called a coin we are used to. In the tales of different peoples, we often come across the fact that the wealth of a person was measured in the number of herds of his horses. It turns out that the herd was a purse, and the horse from it was a bargaining chip. The amount of silver sufficient to purchase a horse ("buying a mane") was called "hryvnia". According to another version, the etymology of this word is not associated with a horse's mane, but originates from a female neck jewelry, but turned into a certain measure of weight in the form of an ingot. Over time, they began to give it the characteristic shape that the National Bank of Ukraine likes to depict on its collection sets. After the start of minting of coins, the name "hryvnia" passed to them.

Goldsmiths and silver coins

When did the first money appear in Russia? Historians say that the most likely period for this came at the end of the tenth century. For their manufacture, precious metals were used - gold and silver. This gave rise to their names "goldsmiths" and "silver coins", but this does not mean that they were called so in princely times. It was just that it was more convenient to describe them when studying ancient coins. However, the names given later are not so far from the truth. For example, coins dated from 980 to 1015 bear the inscription "Vladimir is on the table, and all his silver." Of course, the Grand Duke does not dance on the table, but this word denotes a more befitting "throne". If on one side of the coin there was a princely portrait, then on the other we can see the coat of arms of the principality, which has the shape of a trident or bident (later copies), or Jesus Christ (early copies). The patrimonial mark of Rurik over the shoulder of the prince was not a constant, but carried changes associated with the one who was currently on the throne. The weight of the gold coin was slightly lighter than four and a half grams. And the silver coins had a whole series of coins, where the weight varied from 1.7 to 4.68 grams. After the reign of Vladimir, gold was no longer used to issue coins. Silver money was entrenched in circulation, they were accepted for payment even outside of Kievan Rus, which significantly facilitated the merchant's life.

The princely portrait disappears during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, being replaced by the image of St. George. So the prototype of modern penny denominations was born already in those ancient times. True, here George, as we see above, is not yet riding a horse and does not strike a snake. The inscription on the reverse, the center of which is occupied by the patrimonial mark of the Rurikovichs, is also modified ("Silver Yaroslavl" is in place, but "on the table" is absent, therefore historians say that here we are talking about the reign of Yaroslav in Novgorod).

The first known copy of "Yaroslav's Silver" from the collection of A. I. Musin-Pushkin was found as a pendant on an icon in one of Kiev's churches. However, for some reason, the coins did not suit the Grand Duke, their issue gradually ceased. The last surge is characterized by the banknotes of Oleg Svyatoslavovich 1083-1094. After that, the coins cease to be a means of payment and do not participate in circulation, and the period of history corresponding to this time is called "Coinless".

Hryvnia of ancient Russian principalities

The hryvnia again becomes the means of payment, but (as we mentioned earlier) of the characteristic shape in the form of a rhombus with truncated ends. The Kiev hryvnia weighed about one hundred and sixty grams. The hryvnias of other principalities were more solid. For example, in Chernigov, the hryvnia lacked only five grams to two hundred, and it differed from Kiev's regular diamond shape. In the Volga region and Novgorod, flat two-hundred-gram silver bars were in use. And the Lithuanian hryvnia was a bar with notches. The hryvnia was a large amount of money. For small trade operations, small coins were used that ended up in Russia when they were exported by merchants from neighboring countries or Europe.

Other popular coins of Ancient Russia

This foreign trifle was sometimes called the words "kuna", "veksha", "nogata" (or "nagata" if we consider the origin from the Arabic "nagd" - "selected coin" or "nakada" - "select good coins"), understandable to the Russian ear. ... It will not be difficult for a modern person to determine the similarity of the sound of "kuna" and "marten". Indeed, the valuable fur of martens was not only a commodity, but also an exchange equivalent, which was reflected in the name of money. The "veveritsa" and "vekshi", derived from the local names of squirrel skins, have a similar origin (the silver veksha weighed one third of a gram). And "nogata" is a direct designation of a fur coat with legs. An interesting fact is the existence of leather money. Of course, they were not directly equated with gold or silver, but rather fulfilled the role of financial obligations. The meaning hidden in the name is "cut". This is the predecessor of the "kuna". Rezanu was produced in a way that was barbaric for numismatists. They took the dirhams of the Abbasid Caliphate and cut them into pieces. But the caliphate stopped issuing dirhams, and therefore the rezans gradually left circulation. The need for a bargaining chip was covered by the advent of the kuna.

Rezana is symbolically combined with the ruble, which was "cut" from the silver hryvnia. The ruble was a large monetary unit, therefore it had to be cut in half, which received the name "poltina". The name "hryvnia" is gradually disappearing from the language, being replaced by the word "ruble". Of course, then the concept of "dime" is still destined to emerge, but this will already be just an integral part of the ruble. But the pennies familiar to us appeared much later, already in the Middle Ages, therefore, it is groundless to attribute them to the coins of Ancient Russia.

We can contemplate one of Vladimir's gold coins on the reverse of a commemorative coin of the State Bank of the USSR in 1988. The golden one hundred ruble note is dedicated to the millennium anniversary of Old Russian coinage. It is worth recalling here that in 1988, practically at the state level, the millennium of the baptism of Rus was celebrated. Festive events took place in the main cities of the USSR (Leningrad and Moscow), as well as in the ancient princely capitals (for example, Kiev and Vladimir). After June 18, all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church joined the celebrations. In this regard, the State Bank of the USSR issues an extended series of coins, where Baptism was not always directly mentioned, but the historical monuments of that time were reflected ("1000 years of Russian literature" or "1000 years of Russian architecture"). A three-ruble denomination was set aside for the silver coin, minted in silver of the 900th test.

How many original coins of Kievan Rus have survived? Quite a bit. So there are only eleven gold coins of Prince Vladimir, and two and a half hundred silver coins. The number of famous pieces of silver of Prince Svyatopolk does not exceed fifty. But least of all, the coins of Yaroslav the Wise have survived to our times - seven copies. It is clear that it is they, together with the gold coins of Prince Vladimir, that are the rarest coins of Ancient Rus. For those who are interested in the topic and wish to study it in detail, we highly recommend the book by Ivan Georgievich Spassky "Russian Monetary System". It fully and reliably describes the monetary circulation of Ancient Rus.

Latest prices for coin auctions in Russian rubles

Photo	Description of the coin	G	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC	Proof

Foreign coins that wandered into the lands of the Russians were perceived rather as souvenirs or as a blank for jewelry. Ancient Russia built its monetary system much later than the European one, and there were periods when coins were not minted at all, and ingots of metal served as the means of calculation. For the ear, the names sound outlandish: veksha (veveritsa), kuna, nogata. Even the numismatic movement of the fur theory of monetary circulation was born in Ancient Russia. In their opinion, the sable skin was the largest denomination. Kuna (marten skin) represented the middle group of denominations. And the landmark or veveritsa (squirrel skin) was somewhere at the bottom of the calculated pyramid. "Rezana" - cut skin, which was a bargaining chip. Proponents of this theory even lead the etymology of nogata from the word "leg" - the paw of that very sable skin. But these coins were made of 900 silver. What is the name of the first ancient Russian gold coin?

What is "zlatnik"?

Is it possible to say that the goldsmith is first coin Ancient Russia? It is reliably known that goldsmiths appeared under Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Old money made of gold could bear names now unknown to us. The name "zlatnik" has already been given by modern numismatists for metal production. The weight of the gold coin was a little less than four and a half grams. The value of Prince Vladimir's gold coin was also high at the time of his minting. Therefore, the coin did not serve as a payment sign, but had a representative value. The prince could show the goldsmith to foreign guests, in whose wallets there were similar round pieces of precious metal, or he could award a coin for excellent service. So the goldsmith was analogue of a medal... How much is the goldsmith of Vladimir in our time? These are not the kind of coins that you can find at the auction and focus on the amount of care. So far, eleven zlatniks of Vladimir are known. During the reign of other princes, gold coins were not minted.

Srebrenik Vladimir Svyatoslavovich

Srebrenik (sometimes it is called a "silversmith") in Russia was not originally a full-fledged coin, but was the younger brother of the goldsmith. What is "silver coin"? No, this is not the coin of which Judas was paid thirty for betrayal. As with the biblical story, the name "silver coin" given much later on workpiece metal. On one side of the coins we will see Jesus Christ. On the back of the silver coin we find a portrait of the prince and the explanation "Vladimir is on the table, and all his silver" (where the "table", of course, is the "throne"). This design is present on coins from 980 to 1015, when the first pieces of silver appeared.

Late silver coins

Unlike the goldsmith, the minting of silver coins continued after Vladimir. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the inscription becomes shorter ("Silver Yaroslavl") and moves to the reverse, where it now dominates generic sign Rurikovich. The portrait of the prince is replaced by St. George, but not yet on horseback and without a spear that smashes a snake. It is believed that silver coins eventually became a full-fledged means of payment, operating in the lands adjacent to Kiev. Coins of different weight were found (from 1.7 to 4.68 grams). The last prince under whom the release of silver coins was carried out was Oleg Svyatoslavich. These coins date from 1083-1094. After that, the silver coin loses the status of a means of payment and disappears from circulation. How much does a piece of silver cost? Unknown, as the number of discovered coins is small. Only seven for Yaroslav, less than fifty for Svyatopolk and two and a half hundred for Vladimir. Therefore, the ratio "1 silversmith in rubles" is extremely vague and ephemeral.

What is "Old Russian hryvnia"?

A "coinless" period begins, and the place of silver coins in circulation is taken by the hryvnia. The main hypotheses of the origin of the name Old Russian hryvnia adhere to either its etymology from the word "mane" (where the value of the Old Russian hryvnia is trying to equate to the value of a horse), or from the neck ornament of the same name, which was made of precious metals. The old Russian currency "hryvnia" is primarily an ingot of silver of a certain weight. And to identify the ingot as a design mark, they began to give it a certain shape. The most famous is the diamond-shaped hexagon of the Kiev hryvnia (over 160 grams). Novgorod hryvnia is a silver stick. By weight more solid than Kiev - 204 grams. Chernigov combined in its hryvnia the form of Kiev and the weight of Novgorod. The so-called Lithuanian rubles (about 100 grams of silver), also called hryvnias, were rod-shaped. Of these, trihedral ingots(approximately 170 to 190 grams of silver), referred to as the "Three-sided Lithuanian ruble". The most surprising form was the Tatar hryvnia, which was given the shape of a boat, but it is worth noting that in the Volga region, the usual rounded shape was preferred.

Weight unit

The weight of silver in hryvnia was equal to European brand(at that time, too, a measure of weight, and not the name of a monetary unit). Dated in 1130, "The Charter of the Grand Duke Mstislav and his son Vsevolod to the Novgorod Yuriev Monastery" contains in the text a mention of the "hryvnia of silver" as a weight unit. It is necessary to distinguish "hryvnia of silver" from "hryvnia kun". Their weight at first coincided, but for the "hryvnia kun" they took low standard silver, so for the "hryvnia of silver" they gave four "hryvnia kun". Subsequently, the "hryvnia kun" also began to be made of high-grade silver, but the weight was reduced to maintain proportion. So at a time when the mass of "silver gryvnia" was 204 grams, "kun grivna" weighed 51 grams. During the 13th century, the concept of "ruble" changed the name of "hryvnia", and in the 15th century, silver bars ceased to participate in the calculations, although the word "ruble" remained colloquial and subsequently passed to coins, the minting of which was based on the rate of 204 grams of silver ... But in the weighting system, the hryvnia still held out for a long time, dividing into spools... And only by the 18th century it was replaced by the pound. Therefore, to the question of the erudite contest "what ancient Russian coin was used as a measure of weight?" you can safely answer: "Hryvnia!"

Old Russian monetary system

By the eleventh century, the formed monetary system was headed by the kun hryvnia, which was divided into twenty nogats, or twenty-five kunas, or fifty rezans, or one and a half hundred veverits. It cannot be called a measure of stability. For example, already in the twelfth century, the kuna "lost weight" by half, that is, it took already fifty kuna to make the hryvnia.

Consider monetary units of Ancient Rus in more detail. Nogata became known to scientists for the Smolensk Charter, dated 1150. In addition, household inventory defined it as one-twentieth of a hryvnia or one and a half cut. Late nogata (13-15 centuries), like a coin, is characteristic of northern Russia, close to the Novgorod lands. Researchers agree that some of the foreign silver coins could be called a foot, but they have not yet been able to calculate a specific coin. But according to the weight value of the leg, it is easy to calculate: the twentieth part of the hryvnia is 3.41 grams. But here, too, it is difficult to look for constancy. Mention is made of the southern nogata and the northern nogata, the weight of which varied. It is known that in Livonia the nogata was equated with six Lubeck pfennigs... In Novgorod, the nogata formed a complex system, where it was equal to two mortars, or three quarters, or fifteen lbets, or thirty veksh. It is also difficult to understand the etymology of the word. If we take Arab silver, then "nakada" - selected good specimens of coins. If we look into Estonia, we will find that in the local dialect "nahat" means "fur", which again leads us to the fur theory of monetary circulation.

Denarius of Charlemagne (above) and dirham (below), which could be called "kuna"

Kuna was also both a weight unit and a monetary unit. It is difficult to unambiguously compare the kuna with the coins that penetrated from adjacent lands. For example, a dirham weighing 2.73 grams could well be the twenty-fifth part of the hryvnia, if its weight is taken as 68.22 grams. However, at some point, the kuna was equal to two grams of silver. Kuna could even be European. In later times, kuna became synonymous with money.

If you look at Rezana, then the direct meaning of her name becomes clear, since in front of us cut coin... Most often, the dirham was unlucky, which could not only be halved, but also be divided into quarters. It is precisely these halves and quarters of Arab coins that are found in hoards buried in the 11-12 centuries. The weight of the cut was a little less than one and a half grams of silver (the 900th sample of the metal). Nevertheless, specimens of 1.7 grams, 1.35 grams and exactly one gram are known. Later, the influx of dirhams from the southeastern lands ceases. According to Valentin Yanin (an expert on the ancient Russian monetary system), the rezana was a prototype of the Moscow denga, the weight of which was 1.02 grams, and which began to be minted at the end of the 15th century under Dmitry Donskoy.

What is "faith"?

Veveritsa or veksha was at the very bottom of the denominations of Ancient Rus. Supporters of the fur theory tie it to the skin of a squirrel. But we are more interested in the ancient Russian silver coin. The weight of this small coin was about a third of a gram. The documents confirming its existence are Russkaya Pravda and The Tale of Bygone Years. A couple of veksha were equated with the denarius of Western Europe. The copper coin of Byzantium, the nummias, was also identified with the Veksha. A small piece of the Arab dirham could also be a faithful.

Are known and double faiths who walked in the Kursk lands. Their weight was approximately 0.68 grams. They were made from Arab dirhams. Oriental coins were also cut by weight, but they were given a circular shape, in contrast to the cut. The double veveritsa was equal to half of the rezana that walked in the southern lands of the ancient Russian state.

100 rubles 1988 "Zlatnik Vladimir"

Despite the fact that the monetary system of Ancient Russia was borrowed from adjacent lands and was based on the influx of foreign coins, which were adapted for local monetary circulation, it was the period of the 11-15th centuries that became the basis for the emergence of original domestic coins, which subsequently formed the Moscow and Novgorod monetary systems. Recognition of merit can be considered collectible coins of the USSR 1988 year. The denomination "1000th Anniversary of Old Russian Coinage" bears the image of the goldsmith Vladimir on the reverse. The same series includes the 900th test, where we can see both sides of one of the variants of Vladimir's silver coin dated 988.

3 rubles 1988 "Srebrenik Vladimir"

The beginning of minting coins in Russia, in the modern sense of the word, dates back to the end of the 10th - the beginning of the 11th centuries. Silver and gold Russian coins appeared during the reign of Vladimir the Great. Before that, either dirhams brought by merchants from the East, or Byzantine coins were used for mutual settlements. Natural exchange could also take place. In addition, written sources mention several payment units, about most of which the researchers did not come to a consensus.

Payment units of pre-Vladimir Russia

The most famous means of payment for this period is the hryvnia. This name implied a massive silver jewelry worn around the neck. In payment terms, the hryvnia was equal to a 200 g silver bar and was exchanged for it.

Also in written sources such names as grivna kun, kun, nogata, cut, viveritsa (veksha) are mentioned. Researchers have not agreed on what these words mean. Kuna is sometimes identified with the Arab dirham, Western European denarius, or other silver coins. Sometimes it is associated with payments for goods with fur. Also correlated with the name of the taxes that existed in those days and were called "marten". But one way or another, the hryvnia kuna is the sum of 25 kunas.

Another unit of account was the nogat, which is correlated either with a separate group of Arab dirhams, or with the calculations of leather and furs. The hryvnia kun was split into 20 legs if necessary. The rezana was 1/2 kuna, and one of the possible physical expressions of this payment unit could well be the trimmings of Arab dirhams found in ancient Russian hoards.

The smallest denomination was called veksha or wyveritsa (squirrel) and was 1/6 kuna or, according to other sources, 1/100 hryvnia. It is quite possible that the ancient system of payments with fur simply left an imprint in the form of names on coins introduced into circulation by merchants.

The first Russian coins

The first coins, which began to be minted at the court of Vladimir the Great, were made of gold and silver and were called gold and silver coins, respectively. The obverse of the coin depicted the Grand Duke of Kiev, on the reverse - a trident, the prince's coat of arms. The same coins were minted by the son of Vladimir the Great, Yaroslav the Wise, and Yaroslav's cousin, Svyatoslav Turovsky. The obverse of the Yaroslavov coins depicted the patron saint of the prince - Yuri the Shining.

It is interesting to note that Russian coins with portraits of Kiev princes and a trident were at that time unique for Europe. Western European monetary units of that time were copies of Roman coins.

The coinless period and the emergence of the ruble

After the attack of the Mongol Tatars, a period of fragmentation began. Kiev fell, and the minting of common coins in Russia ceased. Bars of precious metals of various shapes gradually came into circulation. Among them, a single-type rectangular silver ingot with a seam-scar and "chopped off" ends began to stand out, which was named the ruble. One ruble was equal to ten hryvnia kunas. The ruble was divided into smaller payment units by cutting it into pieces, which only supported its name, firmly introducing the word into everyday life.

One tenth of it was called a dime. The ruble, divided in half, was called a half, and into four parts - a quarter. Also, small payment units were made from the ruble - money. Moreover, in Moscow they received 200 money from the ruble, and in Novogorod - 216.

Return of the minted coin

Russian coins began to be minted again in the second half of the 14th century. The “specific” period in Russian numismatics begins in the 1380s and is characterized by the appearance of coins minted in individual specific principalities. During this period, local monetary systems began to emerge, which subsequently formed a single one.

For the first time, personalized silver money was made in the Grand Duchy of Moscow during the reign of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. Ancient Russian coins of the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod principalities date back to almost the same time. At the very beginning of the 15th century. the principality of Tverskoe began to mint its coin, and within 20 years Pskov and Veliky Novgorod caught up with it. Until the end of the first half of the 15th century. up to 50 appanage rulers began to issue their own coins.

The set of coins was small: silver money and half money. Novgorod and Pskov minted money and a quarter of the money. In some places (for example, in the Moscow and Tver principalities) there was also a copper coin of the lowest denomination - a pool.

In Moscow, at the end of the 14th century, the counting system was as follows: the ruble (ingot) was divided into two half rubles, 10 hryvnias or 33 1/3 altyns. At the same time, poltina, dime and altyn did not have a monetary expression, they were units of account. But money and half-money were minted Russian coins, and their value, in comparison with bullion, was as follows: one ruble was equal to 200 minted money or 400 half-money. There is no data on the quantitative ratio of the copper pool to silver coins.

Royal period of numismatics

From 1533 to the end of the 17th century. specific monetary systems merged, forming one, single for the Russian state.

During the reign of the mother of Ivan the Terrible - Elena Glinskaya - strict rules for minting coins were established. Silver money was produced in small and large weights. Small coins carried the image of a horseman with a sword and were called sword coins. On large silver money, a horseman-spearman was depicted, they were called spear money. The modern penny originates from the latter. The smallest coin was called a half. It was equal to a quarter of a penny or half money.

Until the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, Russian coins did not bear the designation of the year of issue. This king was the first to have a date stamped on a penny.

Old Russian coins in history and numismatics

Numismatics is an auxiliary historical discipline. Money is an important element of any society. They bear the imprint of his political, ideological structure, religious attitudes and the historical processes taking place in him. In addition, money reflects many aspects of social life that have dropped out of sight of other documentary evidence of the past.

Thus, for example, the transition to a standardized monetary system of the tsarist period from the variety of coins of the XIV-XVI centuries. reflects the completion of a long process of centralization of disparate principalities.

In addition to being important for historical science, numismatics is also one of the types of collecting. Peter I, together with his associate, Alexander Menshikov, is called the first coin collector in Russia.

Russian coins value

There are many catalogs listing the currently known Russian coins and their value. However, the price of a particular coin also depends on its safety and general condition.

For example, if the price of a silversmith of Prince Vladimir in good enough condition can be more than $ 250, then a badly damaged coin without a few fragments costs much less. That is why the question of how much Russian antiquity coins are worth is most reasonable to solve in each specific case by the method of appropriate examination, because we are talking about archaeological value.

Coins of the modern walker- these are the coins with which we pay every day in stores and which are in your wallets. This does not include commemorative coins.

The first modern walker appeared in circulation in January 1998. The new coins were in denominations of 1 kopeck, 5 kopecks made of steel with cupronickel coating with the image of St. George the Victorious; 10 kopecks, 50 kopecks from a copper - zinc alloy with the image of St. George the Victorious; 1 ruble, 2 rubles from a copper-nickel alloy with the image of a two-headed eagle; 5 rubles from copper with cupronickel coating with the image of a two-headed eagle.

The coins were minted at two mints - at the Moscow Mint (MMD) and the St. Petersburg Mint (SPMD). The mint mark is located under the hoof of the horse of St. George the Victorious, and under the paw of the eagle on the obverse of the coin.

Coins of a modern walker with a denomination of 5 rubles ceased to be minted in 1999 and resumed only in 2008, 2 rubles were renewed in 2000 in 2006, and 1 ruble in 2000 was renewed in 2005. Although in 2003 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles were minted in a circulation of 15,000 copies for sets of coins, but for some reason these sets were not released, and the coins were put into circulation. In 2002, the aforementioned coins for sets were also minted and they were not officially in circulation. Although in circulation, they can still get caught, tk. less kits were released than minted.

In 2006, coins of 10 kopecks and 50 kopecks began to be minted from steel clad with brass, and in 2009 they began to issue 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles, minted from steel.

In 2009, the release of coins of 10 rubles, made of a magnetic alloy, began, and in 2010 they officially stopped minting 1 kopeck and 5 kopecks.

.

Photos of Modern Walker Coins - New coins made of steel.

Pictures of coins - modern walker.