The most expensive coins of ancient Rus'. Ancient coins Zlatniki and silver coins of Kievan Rus

These were the first coins minted in Kievan Rus at the end of the 10th century, then at the beginning of the 11th century, they were issued in small quantities and not for long, therefore they did not have much influence on monetary circulation, but they represent a unique group of cultural monuments of Ancient Rus'.

Under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 988, Christianity became the official religion in Rus'. In the cities, the oldest of which were Kyiv, Novgorod, Ladoga, Smolensk, Murom, crafts actively developed, as well as trade with the southern and western Slavs and the peoples of other countries. This led to the beginning of the production of the first own coins from gold and silver.

The first Russian gold and silver coins were called zlatniks and srebreniks, respectively. The diameter of zlatniks reached 24 mm, and in weight they were equal to the Byzantine solidus - approximately 4.2 g. Subsequently, the zlatnik became a Russian unit of weight called zolotnik (4.266 g). Coin mugs for minting were cast in folding molds, which explains the presence of noticeable casting defects on the zlatniks and a significant discrepancy in weight. Silver from Arab coins was used to make silver coins.

Zlatniks and pieces of silver were mintedcommon stamps. Obverse side: Half-length depiction of the prince, indeed, probably sitting (judging by the bent small legs under the figure); in a cloak fastened on the chest, in a hat with pendants and a cross; in the right hand there is a cross on a long shaft, the left hand is pressed to the chest. At the left shoulder there is a princely sign - a trident. Around there is a circular inscription from left to right (occasionally from right to left): VLADIMIR ON THE TABLE (or VLADIMIR AND HIS SILVER). There are linear and dotted rims around.

Reverse side: A chest-to-chest image of Jesus Christ, with a baptized halo; right hand in a blessing gesture, in the left - the Gospel. Around there is a circular inscription from left to right (occasionally from right to left): IUSUS CHRISTOS (or IС ХС under the titles). There are linear and dotted rims around.

According to experts, the issue of its own coin in Kievan Rus was caused, on the one hand, by the fact that in the economy of the ancient Russian state of the second half of the 10th century. There was a noticeable shortage of silver coins due to a reduction in the supply of Arab dirhams, on the other - for political reasons, since the presence of its own coin served the task of glorifying the Kyiv state and establishing its sovereignty, as evidenced by the appearance of these coins. Despite the fact that they had significant differences (there are about 11 design options), the obligatory attributes were the image on the front side of the seated Grand Duke of Kiev with a halo above his head, a long cross in his right hand and his left hand pressed to his chest, and on the back - an image of Jesus Christ, which in the 11th century. was replaced by a unique state emblem in the shape of a trident (the so-called family sign of the Rurikovichs).

On the front side of the most common coins of that time there is an inscription in Old Church Slavonic letters “VLADIMIR IS ON THE TABLE”, i.e. occupying the throne, ruling, and on the reverse - “AND THIS IS HIS SILVER”, which meant: “And this is his money.” For a long time in Rus' the word “srebro” (“silver”) was synonymous with the word “money”. There are also coins with the inscription on the front side “VLADIMIR AND BE HIS SILVER (or GOLD)”, and on the back - “JESUS ​​CHRIST”.

Zlatniki of Prince Vladimir were produced for a little over ten years - until the end of the 10th century. (11 copies are known), and silver pieces - in the 11th century, both by Vladimir and his short-term (from 1015 to 1019) successor on the grand-ducal throne, his eldest son Svyatopolk the Accursed (78 copies are known). The cessation of the regular influx of oriental silver and the lack of its own raw material base doomed this economic endeavor to a rapid completion. In total, no more than 350 gold coins and silver coins from ancient Rus' have survived to this day. Including about ten pieces of silver of Yaroslav the Wise, which were minted in Novgorod, where he ruled until he took the throne of Kyiv in 1019. On the front side of the Novgorod pieces of silver there was a chest-length image of St. George. On the reverse side there is the inscription “Yaroslavl is silver” around the image of the princely sign in the form of a trident with a circle on the middle prong.

2. Hryvnia, ruble, half

The hryvnia, in the non-monetary period from the 11th to the 15th centuries, corresponded to a certain amount (weight) of precious metal and was a monetary unit - the “hryvnia of silver”. It could be equal to a certain number of identical coins and in this case it was called “hryvnia kun”. Silver coins, Arab dirhams in circulation in Rus', and later European denarii were called kuns. In the 11th century, the hryvnia kun consisted of 25 dirhams, the value of which was equal to a quarter of the hryvnia of silver. Both hryvnias became payment and monetary concepts in Ancient Rus'. The silver hryvnia was used for large payments, foreign dirhams and denarii (kunas) for smaller ones.

In Kievan Rus since the 11th century. Kyiv hryvnias were used - hexagonal silver plates, measuring approximately 70-80 mm by 30-40 mm, weighing about 140-160 g, which served as a unit of payment and a means of storage. However, the Novgorod hryvnia, known first in the northwestern Russian lands, and from the middle of the 13th century, had the greatest importance in monetary circulation. - throughout the entire territory of the ancient Russian state. These were silver sticks about 150 mm long and weighing about 200-210 g. Transitional from the Kyiv to the Novgorod ones was the Chernigov hryvnia, which was close in shape to the Kyiv one and in weight to the Novgorod one.

The ruble was first mentioned in Novgorod documents of the 13th century and was the equivalent of a whole hryvnia or half of it. By the 15th century, the ruble became a monetary unit of account; 200 “scale” coins equaled 1 ruble. When cutting the Novgorod hryvnia in half, a payment ingot was obtained - a half-ruble, which weighed about 100 g and had dimensions of approximately 70x15x15 mm. Such bars circulated throughout the “non-coined period” from the end of the 11th century. until the middle of the 15th century. in the Russian principalities and nearby lands.

3. Moscow Principality

At the beginning of the 14th century. The strengthening of the Moscow principality began, as a result, the need arose for its own money both for the princely treasury (payment of tribute to the Tatars, salaries for military men, etc.), and for trade turnover due to the revival of internal and external economic relations. Therefore, the next Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy (1350 - 1389) began minting his own coin.

The name of Russian coins "denga" was taken from the Mongolian coin "denga". It is known that 200 coins were minted from a hryvnia weight of silver (about 200 g), which made up the Moscow counting ruble (in those days the ruble did not exist as a real coin). To make money, the hryvnia was pulled into wire, chopped into small pieces, each of them was flattened and a silver coin weighing about 1 gram was minted.

Under Dmitry Donskoy, denga became the main monetary unit of Rus'; later, under some rulers, half of it was also issued - half-denga (polushka).

On the front side of the coins, in the middle of the inner ring, there could be an image of a warrior in profile, turned to the right or left, armed with a sword and axe, as well as a man without weapons, or a rooster. Between the inner and outer rings there was the text: “SEAL OF THE GREAT PRINCE” or “SEAL OF THE GREAT PRINCE DMITRY” in Old Russian letters. The Arabic script was initially placed on the reverse side. The fact that Rus' during this period was still under the rule of the Tatars forced Prince Dmitry to mint next to his name also the name of Khan Toktamysh (Tokhtamysh): “SULTAN TOKTAMYSH KHAN. LET IT LAST." Subsequently, the script was preserved, but became unreadable, and in the end it was replaced by Russian text.

According to the most common opinion, the term “ruble” comes from the verb “to chop”: hryvnias of silver were cut into two parts - rubles, which in turn were cut into two more parts - half. There is also an opinion that the ruble may owe its name to an ancient technology in which silver was poured into a mold in two stages, and in this case a seam appeared on the edge. The root “rub”, according to experts, means “edge”, “border”. Thus, “ruble” can also be understood as “ingot with a seam.”

The weight norm of the first coins of Dmitry Donskoy fluctuated between 0.98-1.03 g. However, already in the mid-80s. XIV century the money “lightened” to 0.91-0.95 g, and by the end of his reign the weight of Moscow silver coins decreased to 0.87-0.92 g.

The minting of similar coins was continued by other Grand Dukes, descendants of Dmitry Donskoy. Coins were already issued in many large quantities. On their front side there were various subject images: a horseman with a falcon on his hand (“falconer”); a horseman in a flowing cloak; a horseman with a spear slaying a dragon; horseman with sword; a man with sabers in both hands; a warrior armed with a sword and ax; a four-legged animal with a tail bent upward and even Samson tearing apart the mouth of a lion.

In addition to silver coins, small copper coins called “pulo” were also minted in Rus' during this period. They were made in the princely cities - Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, and therefore the coins bore their own names - Moscow pulo, Tver pulo. The denomination of this coin was so insignificant that for one silver money they gave from 60 to 70 copper pulos. Their weight, depending on the place and date of manufacture, could be from 0.7 to 2.5 g.

The first money of Ivan III was minted weighing only 0.37-0.40 g and, just like the coins of previous rulers, could have a variety of images. Subsequently, the weight of the coins was raised to 0.75 g, and images of animals and birds disappeared from their surface. In addition, during the reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich, coins of various principalities were still in circulation, differing in both weight and design. But the formation of the Moscow state required the introduction of a single monetary standard, and from now on the vast majority of Moscow money had on the front side an image of a prince in a large hat (or crown) sitting on a horse, or a horseman with a sword in his hand, also symbolizing the Grand Duke of Moscow. On the reverse side there was most often an inscription in old Russian letters: “OSPODAR OF ALL Rus'.”

4. Ancient national coins of the Russian kingdom

The monetary reform carried out during the reign of Ivan the Terrible was built on the basis of the merger of the two most powerful coin systems of the end of the period of feudal fragmentation - Moscow and Novgorod. During the reform, the weight of the coin and the image on it were unified.

From the hryvnia of silver, 300 Novgorods were now minted (their average weight began to be 0.68 g of silver), which were equated to money, or 600 Moskovki (average weight 0.34 g of silver). It was actually half money, although it was also considered money. 100 Novgorods or 200 Moskovkas constituted a Moscow account ruble. In addition, the counting monetary units were half, hryvnia and altyn. In Poltina there were 50 Novgorodkas or 100 Moskovkas, in the grivna there were 10 Novgorodkas or 20 Moskovkas, and in Altyn there were 3 Novgorodkas or 6 Moskovkas. The smallest monetary unit was the polushka (1/4 money) weighing 0.17 g of silver.

On large-weight Novgorod money, a horseman with a spear was depicted, and on lighter Muscovite coins, there was also a horseman, but only with a saber. Because of this, already during the reform itself, Novgorod received the name “kopeyny money”, or “kopecks”. The latter name, at first little used, ultimately turned out to be more tenacious than Novgorod, and has survived to this day. The change of name allowed for a more logical line of denominations: a kopeck (Novgorodka) was equal to two money (Moskovka) or four half rubles.

On the front side of the cups there was an image of a bird, and on the back there was the text “GOVERN”. On the reverse side of the remaining coins, the inscription was initially minted in old Russian letters “GRAND PRINCE IVAN OF ALL Rus'”, and after 1547, when Ivan IV Vasilyevich was crowned king, “TSAR AND GRAND PRINCE OF ALL Rus'”. Naturally, such an inscription could not completely fit on the surface of a coin, the size of a watermelon seed, and therefore many words in it were shortened to one letter or, according to the rules of ancient spelling, in words that were clear to understand, the vowels were omitted. As a result, the inscription on the coins looked like “TSR I V K IVAN V R” (for the half coin - “GDAR”).

At the same time, they abandoned the issue of copper pulo - the new monetary system was based only on silver. Pieces of silver wire served as blanks for money, so the finished product of the money yards did not have the correct shape and was somewhat reminiscent of fish scales. It was extremely rare for such “scales” to have a complete impression of round stamps left on them. However, they did not strive for this. The main requirement for the new coins was to match the weight. At the same time, Western silver - the main material for minting coins - underwent additional purification in Rus'. The money court accepted silver by weight, carried out a purification “coal” or “bone” smelting, and only after that minted money. As a result, as experts note, the Moscow state until the middle of the 17th century. had the highest quality silver coins in Europe.

During the reign of the second son of Ivan IV, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (1557-1598), the coins of the Moscow state completely retained their weight and design with only one exception - the inscription on their reverse side (without abbreviations) looked like this: “TSAR AND GRAND DUKE FEDOR OF ALL Rus'" or "TSING AND GRAND DUKE FEDOR IVANOVICH OF ALL Rus'".

It should be added that after the reign of Fyodor Ivanovich, the less profitable minting of coins of smaller denominations (money and half) was often stopped for many years, while the production of kopecks did not stop under any ruler.

A special place among the coins issued at the beginning of the 17th century, during the reign of Vasily Shuisky, is occupied by a penny and money made of gold. Their appearance is associated with the fact that by 1610, Tsar Vasily Shuisky had exhausted all the silver reserves in the treasury to pay for Swedish mercenary troops. Under these conditions, the Money Order found a very unique way out of the situation. The gold penny was minted with the same stamps as the silver one, and to make gold money they used stamps that had been preserved since the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich and bearing his name. The exchange rate of gold against silver was set in accordance with the norms of the Trade Book - 1:10, which almost corresponded to the pan-European level. This is how new Russian coins appeared in denominations of 5 and 10 kopecks (10 and 20 money), completely corresponding in design and weight to silver kopecks and money.

5. Russian money from the era of the first Romanovs. 1613 – 1700

During the reign of the new tsar, all coinage gradually concentrated in the Moscow Kremlin. In 1613, the Yaroslavl and Provisional Moscow mints stopped working, and the Novgorod and Pskov mints were closed in the 20s. XVII century For the first time since the time of Boris Godunov, the new Moscow government revived the tradition of minting the entire range of denominations of money (kopeck, denga, polushka).

On the front side of the penny and money there were traditionally images of a horseman with a spear or saber (sword). On the reverse side of the coins there was a text in old Russian letters with the name and title of the ruling person: “TSAR AND GRAND DUKE MICHAEL” (the name of the new tsar could also be written as “Mikhailo” or “Mikhail”) or “TSAR AND GRAND DUKE MIKHAIL FEDOROVITCH OF ALL Rus'” .

Under the next Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, initially only the inscription on the reverse sides of the coins “TSAR AND GRAND DUKE ALEXEY” was changed in Old Russian letters. The appearance of the half-shell has changed more significantly. On its front side there appeared an image of a double-headed eagle crowned with three crowns, and on the back there was the inscription “TSR”. The weight norm of the coins remained the same: a penny - 0.48 g, a denga - 0.24 g and a half coin - 0.12 g.

In 1654, the government of Alexei Mikhailovich made a decision, leaving the old silver kopecks in circulation, in addition to them, to issue a ruble coin, i.e., a denomination that had previously been only a unit of account. Thus began a large-scale, but very unsuccessful and difficult in its consequences, attempt to carry out another monetary reform.

To make a new coin, it was planned to use thalers purchased from foreign merchants, and then simply re-mint the images and inscriptions on their surfaces. At the same time, the coin retained the weight and dimensions of the original, which led to the fact that the silver ruble put into circulation was equal to 64 silver kopecks.

On the obverse of the ruble, in the middle of the inner ring, there was an image of a horseman in a royal cap and with a scepter in his right hand and with his left pressed to his chest. Between the inner and outer rings there was an inscription in old Russian letters: “BY THE GRACE OF GOD, THE GREAT GOVERNOR, TSAR AND GRAND DUKE ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH OF ALL GREAT AND SMALL RUSSIA.” On the reverse side, against the background of a patterned frame, was a double-headed eagle crowned. Above it in Old Slavonic letters the date of minting of the coin “SUMMER 7162” was indicated (i.e. the date was indicated “from the creation of the world”), and below it its denomination was “RUBLE”. The copper half-ruble had a similar design, but, naturally, on the reverse side there was an indication - “FIFTY-RUNNER”. The silver half-fifty coins on the front side also had an image of a horseman in a royal cap and with a scepter in his hand, only he was surrounded by an ornament in the form of large beads. There was also a text indication of the coin’s denomination, divided into three parts “POL-POL-TIN”. On the reverse side there was a slightly abbreviated royal title: “TSING AND GRAND DUKE ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH OF ALL Rus'.” Among the ornaments surrounding the inscription, the date of minting of the coin was indicated in old Russian letters - “7162”.

It soon turned out that the Moscow Mint, with its backward manual technology, was not able to cope with the task assigned to it. Therefore, the production of round coins (both silver and copper), which had high denominations, was stopped, and small copper coins began to be minted using the old method - on flattened wire. At the beginning of 1655, the government of Alexei Mikhailovich completely abandoned the use of the inferior silver ruble and half a half, and the Russian monetary system almost completely returned to the old set of denominations of silver coins - kopek, denga, half. For foreign payments, instead of Russian minted rubles, Western European thalers with countermarks on the front side of a penny and the date 1955 began to be used - such coins were popularly nicknamed “efimki”.

The next step, in the same 1655, was the production of copper kopecks and money, which had the weight of silver money and were equal in price to the latter. Moreover, all tax payments were accepted only in silver coins. It continued to be minted in limited quantities only at the Moscow Mint, while large-scale production of copper began at the rest.

The copper money in circulation (mostly kopecks) gradually fell in price, which led to speculation and negatively affected trade. It got to the point that for 1 ruble in silver they gave 17 rubles in copper. By 1659, silver coins had almost completely disappeared from circulation. Since 1661, Russian copper money was completely stopped being accepted in Ukraine, and soon throughout Rus' they refused to sell grain with it. Driven to despair, the population in 1662 raised an uprising, which went down in history as the “Copper Riot.” And although it was brutally suppressed by the government, the very next year, with large losses for the budget (although copper money was redeemed at the rate of 5 to 1 silver kopeck for 1 ruble in copper), a return was made to the “old” silver system, which lasted for almost 40 more years, before 1700.

Ancient Rus' largely copied the achievements of the Byzantine Empire, and money was no exception.
At the end of the 10th century, under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the first coins in Rus' - silver coins - began to be minted. They corresponded in size and weight to the Byzantine ones, the same production technologies were used, but the inscriptions were Russian, and a princely sign was also added. Currently, only about 400 such coins are known; they are considered rarities and almost all are kept in museums.

Around the same time, gold coins appeared, copying Byzantine gold solidi. The images on the pieces of silver and gold coins are very similar. Under the following rulers, only silver pieces were minted, the latter dating back to the time of Yaroslav the Wise. Subsequently, for unknown reasons, the minting of its own coins ceased for three centuries.

Rus' did not always have its own coins, and this is well known. Payments were made for both services and goods. For a long time, furs served as the equivalent. The imperial denarius (Rome), the eastern dirham, and even the solidus of Byzantium were in use. But the era of own money has steadily arrived. So....

Serebryaniki

The first coin minted in Rus' was called a silver coin. It appeared back in the time of Prince. Vladimir, before Epiphany. The shortage of small change began to be felt especially acutely; there were not enough dirhams. The material was silver from the melting of the latter.

Silver coins were minted in two types of designs. At first it was a copy of the idea of ​​the solidi of Byzantium: on the one hand - the throne prince. Vladimir, on the other hand - Jesus. Later the design changed. The face of the Messiah has disappeared. Its place was taken by the trident, the family coat of arms of Rurik. The portrait of the prince was surrounded by the inscription: “Prince Volodymyr is on the throne, and this is his money.”

Zolotniki (Zlatniki)

Zlatnik (980-1015)

Zlatniks were in circulation, as were silver coins. Their coinage was also launched by Prince. Vladimir. Only the coins were poured, as the name suggests, in gold. The prototype of the goldsmith was the Byzantine solidus. The weight was quite impressive - 4 g.

It was a rather rare and expensive coin with a very limited circulation. However, popular rumor keeps its name in folklore to this day. Modern numismatists can present to the public no more than a dozen zlatniks. That is why their price is very high, both on the official and on the black market.

Hryvnia

It was the hryvnia that became the truly independent official monetary unit of Rus'. It arose in the 9th-10th centuries. It was a weighty gold or silver ingot. But it was, rather, a standard of mass rather than a monetary unit. The weight of precious metals was measured using the hryvnia.

Kyiv hryvnias had a mass of 160 g and a 6-gonal honeycomb shape. The money of Novgorod was a long block weighing 200 g. However, the name did not change due to the difference in appearance. The Tatars also used the hryvnia, which circulated in the Volga region. It was called “Tatar” and had the shape of a boat.

The name of the money comes from a completely unrelated object - a women's neck hoop, made by jewelers in gold. The decoration was worn on the mane. Hence - “hryvnia”.

Vekshi

A perfect analogue of the current penny, the ancient Russian veksha! Its other names are squirrel, veritsa. There is an interesting explanation for the first version. It says that when the small silver coin was in circulation, its “natural” counterpart was tanned squirrel skin.

The chronicles mention that the ancient tribute from some tribes was “one squirrel or coin from a single house.” By the way, one hryvnia was equivalent to 150 veks.

Coons

The conversion of the eastern dihrem is a historical fact. The denarius was no less popular. The Russians called both of them “coons.” Why?

There are two explanations. First: the equivalent of both coins was tanned and branded marten skins. By the way, very valuable, even at that time. Second: the English word “coin” (sounds: “coin”), translated as “coin”.

Rezany

Rezans were called “monetary units” designed to carry out calculations as accurately as possible. For example, marten skins were divided into flaps in order to adjust them to a certain price of the product. It was these flaps that were called “cuts” (emphasis on the second “a”).
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.

Today, archaeologists often find halves and quarters of these coins in ancient treasures. Arab money had a fairly large denomination to operate with it in its entirety in small transactions.

Nogaty

Nogata, small change coin, 1/20 hryvnia. Its name, as philologists and historians suggest, comes from the Estonian “nahat” (“fur”). It is possible that nogata were initially “attached” to furs.

With all the variety of coins in Rus', it is quite remarkable that any trade item was “tied” to its own money. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” bears evidence of this in its text. It says that if Vsevolod were on the throne, a slave would be valued at a price, and a slave would be sold at a cut.

Zlatnik is the first ancient Russian coin and the ancestor of all other gold banknotes of subsequent centuries in Rus'. It was minted in Kyiv from the beginning of the 10th century to the beginning of the 11th century by the ruler of Kievan Rus, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich the Baptist.

The real name of the coin was lost in time, and the current one was invented by numismatists of the 18th century based on the text of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 912 by the Prophetic Oleg, where the monetary units “zlatniki” are mentioned as a measure of calculation. To date, only 11 such coins have been found, whose authenticity has been confirmed by numerous examinations and radiocarbon dating. Therefore, their historical and material value is extremely great.

Characteristics:

• material - pure gold;
• diameter - varies from 19 to 24 millimeters;
• weight - in the range from 4.0 to 4.4 grams.

• the image on the front side is a portrait with the face, chest and bent legs of Vladimir the Baptist. On his head is a princely cap with a Christian cross and pendants. The prince's left hand is pressed to his chest, and his right hand is holding an elongated cross. Behind the left shoulder of the prince is depicted the ancestral trident of the dynasty. Along the edge of the coin there is a circular inscription with the words “VLADIMIR ON THE TABLE”, which means the reign of Vladimir on the Kiev throne. On two copies out of the known 11 there was the inscription: “VLADIMIR AND BE ITS GOLD” (The Ruler and his banknote).
• The image on the back shows the face of Christ the Savior, who holds the Gospel in his left hand and releases the blessing with his right hand. Along the edge of the coin there is the inscription “ISUS CHRIST”.
• Depending on the type of stamp, the inscriptions can be located either along the edge of the coin or closer to its center.

All coins found so far have been stamped using coin stamp tongs.

Based on the trace of prints, numismatists established that there were 6 types of stamps: 3 of them are of an early period (they are distinguished by the inscription “Vladimir on the throne”), the 4th stamp is distinguished by rough execution and a missing letter in one of the words on the coin. And the 5th and 6th stamps were copied from the four previous ones, but by a different master, as scientists believe, less talented. The latest stamps are distinguished by the fact that their creator confused Christ’s right hand on the obverse for folds of clothing, and therefore added another hand to the image, pressed to his chest. The new master also moved the inscriptions to the very edge of the coin.

How did Zlatnik appear?

The prerequisites for the appearance of its own coin in ancient Rus' arose in the mid-10th century for several reasons:

• Until then, the Eastern Slavs did not have their own coin; it was replaced by the money of Western Europe, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphate and Samarkand. This state of affairs called into question the statehood and independence of Kievan Rus;
• During the same period of time, an acute shortage of dirhams of the Caliphate (the main coin of Rus' at that time) began to be felt, which led to a decrease in the amount of money supply in circulation.

All this led Prince Vladimir to the need to create his own coin, which would strengthen his power, make Kievan Rus the dominant East Slavic state, increase his fame abroad and make Kyiv the main economy of the region. He began printing two types of coins - silver coins and zlatnik coins. The first was based on the Arabic dirham, and the second was based on Byzantine solidi.

Due to the lack of stable sources of gold and the imperfect technology of the Kyiv mint, Vladimir zlatniks were printed in extremely small quantities, which is why only a few coins have survived to this day. But judging by the fact that all of them were found in treasures in different places in Eastern Europe (Pinsk, Kinburg) along with coins of other states of the 10th-11th centuries, we can conclude that zlatniki circulated in international monetary circulation and were valued as highly as and other gold monetary units of those years.

Another reason for such a small number of coins was the death of Vladimir, after which their minting ceased. Prince Yaroslav, who expelled his sworn brother Svyatopolk and the Polish troops of his father-in-law Boleslav from the Kyiv throne, did not continue the production of zlatnik, limiting himself to minting Novgorod silver coins.

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Every state that arose on this planet in any historical period eventually came to the conclusion that it needed something more than natural exchange. The increase in trade and the emergence of large cities forced rulers or communities to find a way to value a particular product. This is how commodity-money relations were formed.

Coins of Ancient Rus' appeared in the Principality of Kiev at a time when the young state felt a vital need for it.

Money in Kievan Rus before its minting

Before the Slavic tribes united into a single great state - Kievan Rus, countries with an older history had already minted money for many centuries and, thanks to it, conducted trade relations with each other.

The most Rus, found on the territory of the Principality of Kyiv, date back to the 1st-3rd centuries AD. e. and are Roman denarii. Such artifacts were found at excavation sites of ancient settlements, but it is not yet known for certain whether the Slavs used them for payment or for decoration. Since trade relations between the tribes were more of an exchange nature, the real value of denarius in this territory has not been studied.

Thus, the coin of Ancient Rus', kuna, is a concept that, according to ancient Russian chronicles, applies both to Roman, Byzantine and Arab money, and to marten fur, which was often used to pay for goods. Fur and leather have long been the object of commodity-money relations in many countries.

Kievan Rus began to mint their own money only from the end of the 10th century.

Coins of Kievan Rus

The earliest coins of Ancient Rus', found on the territory of the Principality of Kyiv, had an image of a prince on one side and a trident or two-pronged coat of arms on the other. They were made of gold and silver, so in the 19th century, when studying ancient coins and their descriptions in chronicles, they were given the names “zlatniki” and “srebreniks”.

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 was the sign of the Rurikovichs, which changed depending on who reigned.

The very first of Ancient Rus' and the name “hryvnia” applied to them have their own etymology. Initially, this word meant equal to the cost of one horse (mane). The chronicles of those years mention the category “hryvnia of silver”. Later, when the casting of coins from this metal began, it began to correspond to its quantity in the banknote.

Under Vladimir the Great, zlatniks were minted, which weighed ~4.4 g, and silver coins, 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 its borders for settlements in trade. Rus were made only under Prince Vladimir, while his followers used exclusively silver for this.

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

Banknotes of Rus' 11-13th centuries

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

Since Orthodoxy spread throughout the entire territory of the Kyiv principality, on Yaroslav’s banknotes there is an image not of the prince, but of St. George, whom the ruler considered his personal patron. On the reverse of the coin there was still a trident and the inscription that this was Yaroslav’s silver. After he began to reign in Kyiv, the minting of coins stopped, and the hryvnia took the form of a silver diamond.

The last coins of Ancient Rus' (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 pay using silver hryvnia, which was actually an ingot.

There were several varieties of hryvnia, the main difference being their shape and weight. Thus, the Kiev hryvnia had the form of a rhombus with cut ends, the weight of which was ~160 g. Also in use were the Chernigov (a regular-shaped rhombus weighing ~195 g), the Volga (flat ingot of 200 g), Lithuanian (a bar with notches) and Novgorod (smooth bar weighing 200 g) hryvnia.

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

There is an opinion among scientists that the smallest coins were the skins of martens - kuna, and squirrels - vekshi. One skin was equal to twenty-fifth or fiftieth of a hryvnia, but from the 12th century, payment in fur became obsolete, as the minting of metal kunas began.

The emergence of the ruble

From 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, cost.

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

Coins of Ancient Rus' were used not only to pay for goods, but also to pay fines to the prince’s treasury. Thus, 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 injury caused, the court imposed punishment of half-virye. “Slander” - the fine for slander - was 12 hryvnia.

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

Coins of the Moscow Principality

The “coinless” 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. The small coins produced were called “half money” and “chetverets”, and the copper coins were called pula.

At this time, banknotes did not yet have a generally recognized denomination, although the Novgorod money produced since 1420 was already close to this. They were minted for more than 50 years in an unchanged form - 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 main monetary unit of weight was still considered the silver hryvnia (204.7 g), from which coins worth 2.6 rubles were cast.

Only in 1530 did 1 ruble receive its final nominal value, which is still used today. It is equal to 100 kopecks, a half - 50, and a hryvnia - 10 kopecks. The smallest money - altyn - was equal to 3 kopecks, 1 kopeck had a face value of 4 half rubles.

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 also began to be minted in Moscow. The coins acquired the same weight and image, which indicates the adoption of a unified monetary system.

During the Polish and Swedish occupation, the money again lost its uniform appearance, but after the proclamation of the Tsar from the Romanov family in 1613, the coins acquired the same appearance with his image. Since the end of 1627 it has become the only one in the country.

Coins of other principalities

They minted their own money at different times. 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 coin, which, when struck on silver, produced coins of the same size, weight and design.

Soon the rider’s saber was replaced with a spear, and thanks to this the name of the coin became “kopek”.

Following 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 trading extremely difficult, so minting was prohibited anywhere except Moscow, and a unified monetary system appeared in the country.

Rezana

In addition to solid ones, there was also a homemade coin in Ancient Rus', which was called “rezana”. It was made by cutting the dirham of the Abbasid Caliphate. The nominal value of the “rezan” was equal to 1/20 of a hryvnia, and circulation continued until the 12th century. The disappearance of this coin from the territory of Kievan Rus is due to the fact that the caliphate stopped minting dirhams, and the “rezana” began to be replaced by the kuna.

Coins of Rus' 17th century

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

Rubles in those days were made of silver, and half coins, which were similar to them, were minted from copper to differentiate them. Half-and-half coins were also silver, and kopecks were copper.

Real inflation was led to by a royal decree ordering that copper coins be equal in value to silver, which caused food prices to rise and popular unrest to begin. A great uprising in 1662 in Moscow, called the "Copper Riot", led to the decree being repealed and the minting of silver money being restored.

Reform of Peter 1

The first real monetary reform was carried out by Peter 1 in 1700. Thanks to her, the mint began minting silver rubles, half, half, half, altyns, hryvnia and copper kopecks. Chervonets were made from gold. Gold round blanks were made for them, onto 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 a double-headed eagle on the reverse). Also in 1718, a coin with the image of the denomination - a two-ruble coin - appeared for the first time.

These denominations survived virtually unchanged 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;
• silver coins of Yaroslav the Wise - 7.

The most expensive coins of Ancient Rus' are the zlatniks of Vladimir (more than $100,000) and the silver coins 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 on display in historical museums, where visitors can learn about the history of their minting and their current market value.

Description of the coin type

• Obverse: chest portrait of Prince Vladimir in a hat with pendants, crowned with a cross. Bent legs are shown schematically below. The prince holds a cross with his right hand, his left hand on his chest. A characteristic trident, the ancestral sign of the Rurikovichs, is shown above the left shoulder. Around the circle there is an inscription in Cyrillic: VLADIMIR ON STOL (that is, Vladimir on the throne). On two of the known 11 coins the inscription is different: VLADIMIR AND BE HIS GOLD.
• Reverse: face of Christ. There is an inscription around the circle: JESUS ​​CHRIST.
• Coin diameter 19-24 mm, weight 4.0-4.4 g

All known zlatniks were minted with conjugated stamps - most likely, tongs in which coin stamps were rigidly attached. Each known obverse stamp of a coin corresponds to a single reverse stamp.

In total, six pairs of stamps are known from surviving copies of coins, three of which, considered the earliest, were cut by the same master and bear the inscription “Vladimir on the table” on the obverse. The images and inscriptions on these stamps are made carefully and in the same style with minor variations. The fourth pair of stamps is made more roughly; a letter is missing from the obverse legend. Doubts have been raised about the authenticity of the coin minted with these stamps. The fifth and sixth stamps were copied from the previous ones by a less skilled master: the general design was preserved, but the carver mistook the blessing right hand of Christ on the reverse for folds of clothing and added a hand pressed to the chest on his stamp, and placed the letters of the inscriptions with their bases towards the edge of the coin, and not towards center.

History of Zlatnik

The first zlatnik was purchased by G. Bunge in 1796 in Kyiv from a Ukrainian soldier, who received it as a gift from his mother. In 1815, the Kiev collector Mogilyansky bought the coin from Bunge, but soon lost it. The coin became known among collectors from a plaster cast. Initially, zlatniks and silver coins were considered Serbian or Bulgarian imitations of Byzantine coinage, but subsequent finds in treasures (for example, a treasure of Byzantine solidi of the 11th century with several gold coins from Vladimir found in 1804 in Pinsk and transferred to the Hermitage), careful examination of coins and deciphering of inscriptions made it possible to establish their ancient Russian origin.

This discovery forced us to reconsider the entire collection of Byzantine coins in the Hermitage collection. Among the coins found near Pinsk, 4 zlatniks were discovered. With the increase in finds of coins, mainly silver pieces, a certain skepticism about the existence of a monetary system in Kievan Rus at the end of the 10th century was overcome. Doubts finally disappeared in 1852 after the discovery of a treasure of more than two hundred silver coins in Nizhyn. Subsequently, several more treasures with silver pieces were found, which were mostly distributed to private collections.

Currently, the location of 10 of the 11 discovered goldfish is known. In the Hermitage - 7, in the State Historical Museum - 1, in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine - 1, in the Odessa Historical Museum - 1.

General information

It has been repeatedly suggested that the beginning of the minting of Rus'’s own coins (zlatnikov and sererenikov) did not so much meet the requirements of the economy (the monetary circulation of Kievan Rus was provided by imported Byzantine, Arab and Western European coins; there were no sources of coin metal in Rus'), but rather it was a political declaration sovereignty and significance of the Russian state. The minting of silver coins continued at the beginning of the 11th century under the reign of Svyatopolk and Yaroslav, but the minting of zlatniks was no longer resumed after the death of Vladimir. Judging by the small number of copies that have come down to us, the production of gold coins was extremely short in time (perhaps one or two years) and small in volume. However, all currently known examples of zlatniks were found in treasures along with other coins of that time and bear traces of being in circulation - therefore, these coins were not ritual, reward or gift. In the 11th century, judging by the finds of these coins in treasures in Pinsk and Kinburg, zlatniks also participated in international money circulation.

• Coin circles for minting were cast in folding molds, which explains the presence of casting defects noticeable on the spools.

• The mass of zlatnik (about 4.2 g) was later used as the basis for the Russian weight unit - zolotnik.

Byzantine solidus of Basil II and Constantine VIII, which served as a model for the goldsmiths of Vladimir

• The appearance of Russian minted coins was a consequence of the revival of trade and cultural ties with Byzantium. The obvious model for the goldsmiths of Vladimir were the Byzantine solidi of the emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, to which the goldsmiths are similar both in weight (about 4.2 grams) and in the arrangement of the images.

Commemorative gold coin “Zlatnik of Vladimir”

• In 1988, in the USSR, to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of ancient Russian coinage, a commemorative gold coin with a face value of 100 rubles was issued with the image of Vladimir the goldsmith.

Sources

Literature

• Spassky, I. G., Sotnikova, M. P. Millennium of the most ancient coins of Russia. Consolidated catalog of Russian coins of the X-XI centuries. - M.: Art, 1983. - 240 p.

Online resources

• Zlatnik of Prince Volodymyr Svyatoslavich, article from the book “100 Most Famous Masterpieces of Ukraine”. - Kiev: Autograph, 2004.

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See what “Vladimir’s Zlatnik” is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see Zlatnik (meanings). Zlatnik of Vladimir from the Hermitage collection Zlatnik (also ... Wikipedia