| Peter I | ||
Silver ruble from 1705, illustrated with a portrait of Peter the Great. Peter’s achievements included the establishment of modern coinage and a rational currency system. The monetary system instituted by Peter was a century ahead of most others in that it was based on the decimal system, which had evolved in Russia over the centuries. The basic monetary unit, first coined in 1704, was the silver ruble of 100 kopecks. Other silver coinage consisted of the poltina (one-half ruble), polupoltina (one-fourth ruble), grivennik (ten kopecks), altyn (three kopecks) and kopeck. There were two copper sub-multiples of the kopeck: den’ga (one-half kopeck) and polushka (one-fourth kopeck); and three gold multiples of the ruble: double ruble, chervonets or “ducat” (about 2 and one-half rubles), and dvoinoi chervonets (double chervonets). Unfortunately, Peter’s profligate expenditures steadily eroded most of the value of this otherwise admirable currency. Collection of Coins and Medals |
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