The monetary system of the Russian kingdom

Denga (silver), 1535, Tver

The most common coin was dengue . Types of money: large and small, Novgorod and Moscow, money lance and swine. The weight content of metal in Moscow money regularly decreased, and under Ivan III, Novgorod and Moscow money began to differ in weight by half. Therefore, there were two rubles: Novgorod and Moscow.

Denga began to be minted like a silver coin in the 14th century in Moscow , and from the beginning of the 15th century in other principalities (for example, the beginning of minting of dengi in Novgorod dates back to 1420 ). 200 coins (money) were minted from the weighted hryvnia of silver (204 grams), which made up the Moscow countable ruble (in those days, the ruble as a real coin did not exist). During this period, dengue was the main monetary unit of the principalities issuing them; dengue fractions were also issued - half ( half-money ) and quarter ( half-half ).

Strengthening the centralization of the Russian state made it necessary to unify the regional coinage, which was carried out in 1534 by Elena Glinsky . This reform introduced a standard for minting “Muscovites” (Moscow money) and “Novgorod” (Novgorod money), and one “ Novgorod ” was equal to two “Muscovites”. On the obverse of "Muscovy" a horseman with a saber was depicted, and on the obverse of "Novgorod" a horseman with a spear, which is why they soon begin to call the "Novgorod" a penny . 300 “novgorodoks” (their average weight was 0.68 grams) or 600 “Muscovites” (average weight 0.34 grams) were minted from the hryvnia of silver, and 100 “novgorodoks” accounted for the Moscow ruble. Subsequently, due to the constant deterioration of the monetary foot, a more significant penny replaced the dengue, making it a secondary face value.

The ruble was divided into half a hryvnia and hryvnia . Poltina meant half the ruble, the hryvnia consisted of twenty money, and altyn six money.

Under Vasily Ivanovich, according to Herberstein, there was still Tver and Pskov money. Tver were equal to Moscow, and Pskov were two types: large and small.

Two half-money made up money. Half-money was called half-money .

Under Vasily Ivanovich, according to Herberstein, 60 pools amounted to one Moscow money. At the beginning of the XVII century, pools went out of circulation.

Gold coins were almost never used in trade. Gold coins were minted in small quantities on solemn occasions, and issued as a reward. For example, the governor of Nerchinsk I.E. Vlasov for his participation in the negotiations on the conclusion of the Nerchinsk treaty was awarded the tsar’s diploma and six gold pieces with the image of the kings. Gold coins were called gold Muscovites .

Coins were minted by gold and silver craftsmen. Anyone could bring them a bar of silver and mint coins. From the masters were required to observe the purity of the metal and the weight of the coin. In trade, coins were considered goods and weighed on the scales.

At the end of the 16th century, craftsmen continued to mint coins. Under Mikhail Fedorovich , money yards appeared in four cities. The masters of these yards worked on the royal salary. Two heads controlled the courts: one of the children of the boyars , the other of the guests . They were given several kissers from the posad people .

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, money yards were in Novgorod , Moscow and Pskov . They were ruled by a nobleman and clerk , elective heads and kissers were attached to them. During the minting of copper money in the same cities, money yards of copper business were instituted. By the end of the XVII century, the money yard remained only in Moscow.

Russia did not have its own gold and silver mining; the only source of these metals was foreign trade. Precious metals were purchased in the form of ingots, jewelry, as well as in the form of foreign coins, which were then considered primarily as goods. A foreign coin was accepted at money yards, where it was converted into Russian scales, and starting from the middle of the XVII century the merchants were obliged to purchase all available silver “for the tsar”, that is, for subsequent sale at the mint.

A unique phenomenon is the short-term issuance of the so-called " efimkov with signs " - over-stamping with special stamps of a foreign silver coin (tellers) for its subsequent release into circulation. This was a desperate measure aimed at overcoming the archaic nature of money production, but the experiment was unsuccessful, it was necessary to return to the old system of completely remaking the coin into scales.

Foreign gold coins were used as gifts , so their value grew before the holidays (especially Easter ), royal weddings , etc. The most rare were the Portuguese gold coins with a cross.

The money yard was administered by the Order of the Big Treasury . Since 1680, the order of the Big Treasury passed over the management of customs , measuring and washing huts, cash income from taverns , circle yards, horse platforms, trading baths, etc. - in short, most of the income that previously went into the orders of the Big Parish .

The counting order controlled the amounts that were received in the income and expenses of various institutions.

• Russian kingdom
• Russian state
• Copper riot
• Moscow Mints (ancient)

• Kostomarov N.I. Essay on the Trade of the Moscow State in the 16th and 17th Centuries. St. Petersburg In Type. N. Tiblen and Comp., 1862