The most expensive coins of Ancient Russia

Each state that arose on this planet in any of the historical periods, eventually came to the fact that he needed something more than a natural exchange. Increased trade growth and the emergence of large cities forced rulers or communities to find a way in assessing a particular commodity. Thus, commodity-money relations were formed.

Coins of Ancient Rus appeared in the Kiev princedom at a time when the young state felt this vital need.

Money in Kievan Rus before their coinage

Before the Slavic tribes united in a single great state - Kievan Rus, countries with a more ancient history have been minting money for many centuries and have made trade relations with each other due to them.

The oldest coins of Rus, found in the territory of the Kiev principality, date back to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. E. And are Roman denarii. Such artifacts were found on the site of excavation of ancient settlements, but used by their Slavs for payment or for decorations, while it is not known for certain. Since the trade relations between the tribes were more of an exchange character, the present value of denarii on this territory has not been studied.

Thus, a coin of Ancient Rus kuna is a concept applicable to ancient Russian chronicles as Roman, Byzantine and Arabic money, as well as marten to martens, which were often used to pay for goods. Fur and leather have long been the object of commodity-money relations in the territory of 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 in the territory of the Kiev principality, had the image of a prince on one side and a trident or two-toothed 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 called "zlatniks" and "srebreniki."

The image of Prince Vladimir on coins from 980 to 1015 had the inscription "Vladimir on the table, and its silver". On the reverse side was represented the sign of Rurikovich, which was modified depending on who reigned.

The very first silver coins of Ancient Rus and the name "hryvnia" applied to them have their own etymology. Initially, this word meant an ingot of silver, equal to the cost of one horse (mane). In the annals of those years the category of "silver hryvnia" is mentioned. Later, when the emptying of coins from this metal began, it began to correspond to its quantity in a monetary sign.

Under Vladimir the Great, zlatniks were minted, which had a weight of ~ 4.4 g, and srebreniki, whose weight ranged from 1.7 to 4.68 grams. In addition, that these banknotes had a spread and commercial value inside Kievan Rus, they were also accepted outside of it when calculating in trade. Gold coins of Ancient Russia were 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 of a political nature, since it showed to the subjects of the recently united state its central authority.

Money Symbols of the 11th-13th Centuries

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

Since Orthodoxy has spread throughout the territory of the Kiev principality, Yaroslav's moneymarks feature an image of a prince and not St. George, whom the lord considered his personal patron. On the reverse of the coin, there was still a trident and the inscription that it was Yaroslav's silver. After he began to reign in Kiev, coinage ceased, and the hryvnia took the form of a silver rhombus.

The last coins of Ancient Rus (the photo below is the money of Oleg Svyatoslavich) are banknotes of 1083-1094 years, since the subsequent historical period of this state is called a soulless one. At this time, it was decided to conduct a silver hryvnia calculation, which in fact was an ingot.

There were several varieties of hryvnia, the main difference was in the form and weight. Thus, the Kiev hryvnia looked like a rhombus with cut ends, the weight of which was ~ 160 g. In the process, there were also Chernigov (a rhombus of regular shape weighing ~ 195 g), Volga (flat ingot 200 g), Lithuanian (notched bar) and Novgorod (a smooth bar weighing 200 g) hryvnia.

The smallest coin of Ancient Rus still remained of European origin, since silver was not spent on small items. In the times of the Kiev principality, foreign money had its name - kuna, nogata, and century - and had its own denomination. Thus, in the 11th and 12th centuries, 1 hryvnia was equated to 20 nogats or 25 kuna, and from the end of the 12th century it was 50 kuna or 100 poles. This is due to the rapid growth of both Kievan Rus and its trade relations with other countries.

There is an opinion of scientists that the smallest coin was the marten's skins - coons, and squirrels were the eyelids. One skin was equal to the twenty-fifth or fiftieth part of the hryvnia, but from the 12th century the payment of fur by itself became obsolete, since the chasing of metal coons began.

The appearance of the ruble

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

Each ruble could be divided into 2 halves, then they were called "poltiny". From the 13th century, all the hryvnia gradually acquire the name "ruble", and from the 14th century they began to depict stamps of masters, names of princes and different symbols.

Coins of Ancient Rus were used not only to pay for goods, but also to pay fines to the treasury of the prince. So, for the murder of a free citizen, the punishment was the highest measure - "vira", which could cost from 5 hryvnia per smerd and up to 80 hryvnia for a noble person. For the injury, the court imposed a punishment for half-brewing. "Poklepna" - a fine for defamation - equaled 12 hryvnias.

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

Coins of the Moscow Principality

"Quiet" time in Kievan Rus ended in the middle of the 14th century, when the coining of coins, called "money", began again. Often, instead of coining, silver coins of the Golden Horde were used, on which Russian symbols were knocked out. Manufactured small coins were called "half-money" and "quaternaries", and copper - pools.

At this time, banknotes still did not have a generally recognized denomination, although Novgorod money made since 1420 is already close to this. They were minted for more than 50 years in an unchanged form - with the inscription "Veliky Novgorod".

Since 1425, there appeared "money Pskov", but a single system of money was formed only towards the end of the 15th century, when two types of coins were accepted - Moscow and Novgorod. The basis of the nominal value was the ruble, the value of which was equal to 100 Novgorod and 200 Moscow money. The main monetary unit of weight was still considered to be silver hryvnia (204.7 g), of which coins were cast for 2.6 rubles.

Only since 1530 1 ruble has received the final nominal value, which is still used. It is equal to 100 kopecks, half a cent - 50, and the hryvnia - 10 kopecks. The smallest money - altyn - was equal to 3 kopecks, 1 kopek had a denomination of 4 polushki.

Rubles were minted in Moscow, and small money in Novgorod and Pskov. During the reign of the last of the Rurikovich family, Fyodor Ivanovich, kopecks were also minted in Moscow. Coins have acquired the same weight and image, which indicates the adoption of a single monetary system.

In the days of the Polish and Swedish occupation, money once again lost its uniform appearance, but after the proclamation in 1613 of a Romanov king, the coins acquired the same appearance with his image. From the end of 1627 the Moscow Mint becomes the only one in the country.

Coins of other principalities

At different times the Russian principalities minted their money. The greatest distribution of coins was received after Dmitry Donskoy released his first money, which depicted a warrior with a saber on his horse. They were made of silver thin rod, which was previously flattened. Masters used a special instrument with a prepared image - a mint, from the impact of which on the silver coins of the same size, weight and pattern were obtained.

Soon the sword of the rider was replaced by a spear, and the name of the coin due to this became a "penny".

Following Donskoy, many princedoms began to mint their coins, depicting the ruling princes on them. Because of this, it was a disparity in the face value of money, which made trade very difficult, therefore, in addition to Moscow, chasing was prohibited somewhere, and a single monetary system appeared in the country.

Rezana

In addition to the whole, there was still a self-made coin in Ancient Rus, which was called "cut". It was done by cutting the dirham of the Abbasid caliphate. The nominal value of "cut" was equal to 1/20 of the 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 ceased to mint dirhams, and the "cut" was replaced by the Kuna.

Coins of Russia of the 17th century

Since 1654, the main money was the ruble, half a cent, halfpolitin and altyn. In smaller coins there was no need.

Rubles in those days were made of silver, and poltiny, resembling them, for their distinction was minted from copper. Halfpoles were also silver, and kopecks were copper.

To this inflation led the royal decree ordering to equate the copper coins to the cost of silver, because of which the food prices went up and people's unrest began. A big uprising in 1662 in Moscow, called a "copper riot," led to the fact that the decree was repealed, and the chasing of silver money was restored.

The Reform of Peter 1

For the first time the real monetary reform was carried out by Peter the Great in 1700. Thanks to her at the mint began chasing silver rubles, half a cent, half-pint, altyn, hryvnia and copper cents. From gold did chervontsy. For them, gold round blanks were produced, on which inscriptions and images were applied by embossing.

There were simple (weight - 3.4 g) and double chervontsy (6.8 g with the image of Peter 1 on the obverse and the double-headed eagle on the reverse). Also in 1718 for the first time there was a coin with the image of face value - a double ruble.

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

Coins of Kievan Rus today

To date, there are:

• Zlatnikov Vladimir - 11;

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

The most expensive coins of Ancient Rus are Vladimir's zlatniki (more than $ 100,000) and silver pieces of Yaroslav the Wise ($ 60,000).

Numismatics

The science that studies coins is called numismatics. Thanks to it, collectors can correctly assess the historical and financial value of money. The rarest coins of Kievan Rus are in the expositions of historical museums, where visitors can get acquainted with the history of their coinage and today's market value.