Introduction of banknotes under Catherine 2. See what “Big note” is in other dictionaries. Attempts to improve finances

INTRODUCTION OF PAPER NOTES IN 1769

Although the topic I have chosen concerns mainly paper banknotes, I would like to note the importance of coins for me personally and for society as a whole. In addition to the fact that a coin is a monetary sign, it is also part of history: economic, political, or carries information of a personal nature. Every collector has that same coin that keeps his history. And it doesn’t matter whether it was found by chance or you went a long way to get it.

But, in my opinion, numismatics would not have given such pleasure and delight if not for the introduction of paper banknotes at one time. After all, if it were not for the introduction of paper bills, then an unlimited number of coins would have freely entered into circulation and, as a result, the numismatic value of the coins would have been significantly reduced, despite their historical significance.

In Russia, the first paper money, which were called banknotes, appeared during the reign of Catherine II, in 1769. Their release was due to the following reasons. Coin circulation during the reign of Elizabeth () and several years later was based on copper money, since there was a shortage of silver and gold, while the expansion of trade relations required a large amount of money more convenient than copper coins. Thus, a payment in the amount of 100 rubles in five-kopeck copper coins weighed more than 6 poods (about 1 centner). Agree, in our time it would not be very convenient to go to the supermarket with a bucket of money.

However, the issue of paper money is closely related to paper production and printing technology; A special enterprise and specialists in the production of money were also necessary. In Russia, until the beginning of the 19th century, there were no optimal conditions for this, which hindered the introduction of paper money. Despite this, according to the manifesto of Catherine II, banknotes began to be issued in Russia. They were not like modern paper money: they were bank obligations - receipts for receiving coins, a kind of modern checks.

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25 rubles sample 1769

Banknotes were convenient for trade transactions; they were also used to pay salaries to civil servants.
At first, all issued banknotes were backed by coin, and when they were brought to the bank, they were freely exchanged for copper, silver and gold coins. But soon the number of banknotes began to exceed the supply of coins. Especially during the war with Turkey, when a lot of banknotes were issued, their rate began to fall in relation to the coin. In the last year of the reign of Catherine II, their exchange rate for one ruble in banknotes was 68.5 kopecks.

The quality of the first banknotes was low due to the paper and poor printing performance. The printed image consisted only of text and numbering. Paper for banknotes was produced at the Krasnoselskaya manufactory (later at the manufactory in Tsarskoe Selo), it had watermarks. The printing was carried out at the Senate Printing House. The ease of making banknotes has led to the emergence of a large number of counterfeits. The government was forced to issue a new type of money. However, those banknotes that were issued in 1786 turned out to be primitive. They were also easily forged by both the favorites of Catherine II and ordinary people. When Napoleon invaded Russia, he also used the imported printing press to issue a lot of counterfeit banknotes (Napoleon generally carried with his army masses of counterfeit money from the countries with which he fought). From 1813 to 1817, 5.6 million rubles of counterfeit banknotes were identified.

probably a fake 100 ruble banknote from 1769.

Since in The ruble exchange rate fell to 20 kopecks, Alexander I was presented with a report on the need to replace existing banknotes and establish a special institution for the production of paper banknotes.

The creation of such an enterprise was entrusted to Augustin Augustinovich Betancourt (). To create paper money, Betancourt recommended creating a special enterprise. He developed a project for the construction of a new paper-making and printing plant, which was later called the State Paper Procurement Expedition. On March 4, 1816, the plan for the Expedition presented by Betancourt received the highest approval from Alexander I.

Construction of the new enterprise was largely completed at the beginning of 1818. An entire town was built, which included a paper mill building, a printing house, mechanical, engraving, numbering and plate workshops, a board of directors, apartments for officials and employees, barracks for workers, a store, and a guard post.

Along with English and German printing presses, Russian ones from the Izhora plant also worked on the Expedition. Even before the official opening of the enterprise, on March 30, 1818, they began to produce new banknotes, and by the autumn of the same year the first batch of banknotes in denominations of 25 rubles was printed. On August 21 (old style), 1818, the Expedition was officially opened, and with its creation, the production of full-fledged paper money began.

From 1769 to 1914, a characteristic feature of paper money in all periods (with rare exceptions) was its inflationary nature. This led to the depreciation of paper money. In Russia, there are only two periods of relatively stable paper money circulation, backed by silver and gold coins. The first period, "silver monometallism" falls on years, the second - the period of "golden monometallism" was from 1897 to 1914, when Nicholas II reigned. In 1897, on the initiative of the Minister of Finance, a monetary reform was carried out with the introduction of www. *****

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6. www. ru. wikipedia. org

Definition

Assignation ruble

Banknotes 1769-1785

Banknotes 1786-1818

Banknotes of 1802

Note - This the historical name of paper money issued in the Russian Federation from 1769 to 1849 and appeared in connection with the development of commodity production and the economic feasibility of withdrawal from circulation as money gold and other metals. To a certain extent, the name "A." has survived to the present day.

Note - this is the name of the order that one person - the assignee - gives to another - the assignee - to receive from a third - the assignee a certain value, and at the same time the assignee receives an order to make this issue. It may happen that the assignee is a debtor of the assignataire and a trustee of the assignat, and in this case, by means of an assignat, he simultaneously fulfills his claim and destroys the obligation lying on him. However, it also happens that the assignee does not have the right to demand anything, but only uses the assignat to borrow from the assignat; he may not even be a debtor of the assignat, but simply wants to help him through the assignat loan or just authorize him to collect money at his, the assignee's, expense. Normalizing the ordinary banknote more closely (it makes no difference whether it is expressed in writing or simply verbally), most current legislation follows in the footsteps of Roman law, which emphasized not the property nature of the obligation and the associated right of claim, but the personal one, and looked at them only as an individual relationship between strictly defined individuals. The issuance of a banknote by the assignee only involves the assumption of an order to collect, and therefore does not oblige the assignee to anything. But only the last one accepts it offer, he is already obliged to fulfill the order given to him, must induce the assignat to fulfill it by announcing to him about the assignat, and is responsible for the malfunction, for example. for non-collection. In the same way, it is not necessary for the assignat to accept the order to make the payment; only from the moment of the announcement of its acceptance does the latter become obligatory for him. If he evades the promised payment, he must unconditionally answer to the assignee for the harm and losses resulting from this.

The question of whether the assignee can independently demand from the assignee by the court the fulfillment of the promise of taking over the assignat, or whether only he is given the right of recourse to the assignee, seems controversial. After satisfying the assignee, the assignee may demand from the assignee, on the basis of the authority received from him, the repatriation of what was paid, if he did not owe the same amount to the assignee or received from him the corresponding amount of money for this payment. If the acceptance or payment of the assignation has not taken place, the legal relationship arising in this regard between the assignee and the assignee must be determined. If the assignee's demand was to be satisfied by means of an assignment, then his right of recourse against the assignee arising from the original obligation is returned to him, for example. he has the right to demand payment of the purchase price if he has been authorized to collect by means of an assignation the amount due from the assignee for the said payment. In this case, the objection that he has already received satisfaction from the provision of the banknote cannot matter, since " banknote- non-payment" and the debtor-assignee remains obligated until the assignee is actually satisfied. In the case where the assignee completely deprives the assignee of his right of claim, for example, when assigning an obligation, assignment, the assignee is responsible only for authenticity (ventas nominis), but not for successful implementation (bonitas nominis) of the demand; if the assignation is expressed in the form of a delegation, then he is exempt from all liability. An assignment that has not yet been executed can be unilaterally destroyed at the will of the assignee, and, like all other powers of attorney, terminate with his death.

There are many deviations from these basic provisions in banknotes made by merchants, called trade banknotes. These deviations are caused by the need to put future values ​​into circulation as components of property and use them for payment. In view of this, the law allows certain deviations from the provisions that determine the relations of the persons participating in the original transaction, and an independent system of rights and obligations arising from the abstract assignment transaction is created for all participants. According to German law, a trade note (kaufm dnische Anweisung) consists of a written act, also called “Anweisung” and containing an indication of the amount, an order for payment, the names of the assignee, the assignee and the assignee, the time of payment, the place and date of issue. Such banknotes are similar to bills of exchange and therefore are compared with them by legislation: Saxon, Bavarian, Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Altenburg and Reis principalities. A. is mainly used by small manufacturers and merchants in order to create for themselves loan. When a note is issued by a reputable trading house, it is tacitly assumed that the assignee wishes to induce the assignee to payment for delivered goods after revenue within a certain period. The assignee cannot induce the assignee to pre-announce the acceptance payment according to the banknote and, nevertheless, if one is denied to him, to take advantage of the established for bills the right of recourse against the previous scribe or the person who issued the note. But once the note is accepted by the assign, then the power of bill law applies to it. In the same way, in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Britain and the United States of North America, banknotes, and even non-commercial ones, are given promissory notes. Other German states, besides those mentioned above, guided by the German trade regulations, distinguish trade notes from ordinary ones in the sense that the assignee can force the assignee as soon as the latter has accepted the note for payment according to trade custom, without being embarrassed by any excuses arising from special assignee-to-assignee relationship. In addition, such a note, if it is only issued not only for payment to the original recipient, but also “to whomever he orders,” can be further transferred by signature and, finally, in case of loss, can be depreciated in the same way as .

In our legislation we do not find any special instructions on banknotes. An order given to the debtor to make a payment to a third party can be carried out as a transfer by signature of a promissory note, which, if its object consists of a cash payment not secured by collateral, can be transferred regardless of the will of the debtor, but without recourse (recourse) to lender(Article 2058, X volume, 1 part of the St. Civil Law), and by way of a power of attorney or assignment given to a third party, i.e., without providing him with an independent claim, much less recourse. In our legislation, a banknote in the precise sense of the word merges with the concept of a draft.

Assignment ruble

Assignment ruble- first the settlement, auxiliary, and then the main monetary unit united Rus' from 1769 to January 1, 1849, which was in circulation on a par with the silver ruble with the market exchange rate for both currencies. In total there were 4 monetary issues of Russian banknotes: in 1769-1785, 1786-1818, 1802 and 1818-1843. On Russian banknotes the inscriptions “Acts for the benefit of the Fatherland” and “Love for the Fatherland” were used.

Banknotes 1769-1785

The appearance of assignation rubles was caused by large government expenditures on military needs, which led to a shortage of silver in the treasury (since all payments, especially with foreign suppliers, were carried out exclusively in silver and gold coins). a lack of silver and the huge amounts of copper money in domestic Russian trade meant that large payments were extremely difficult to make. Thus, the district treasuries were forced to equip entire expeditions when collecting poll taxes, since a separate supply was required to transport on average every 500 rubles of tax. All this necessitated the introduction of certain state obligations, a kind of bills for large calculations.

The first attempt to introduce banknotes was made by Peter III, who signed a decree on May 25, 1762 on the establishment of a state bank, which was supposed to issue banknotes in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles for a total amount of 5 million rubles.

The decree was not implemented due to a coup d'etat carried out by Catherine II, who in turn returned to the idea 7 years later issue of securities banknotes. On December 29, 1768, a manifesto was signed and published on February 2, 1769 on the establishment of branches of the Assignation Office in St. Petersburg and Moscow jar who received the exclusive right release banknotes. The manifesto stated that banknotes circulate on a par with coins and are subject to immediate exchange for coins on demand in any quantity. It was established that the issue of paper money should not exceed the cash amount of the coin in bank. The original Assignation Bank amounted to 1 million rubles in copper coins - 500 thousand rubles each in the St. Petersburg and Moscow offices. The monetary issue of banknotes was also determined at 1 million rubles. The bank issued the following denominations: 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles. This issue of securities had a primitive appearance, which simplified falsification. Banknotes in denominations of 25 rubles were converted into 75. Therefore, by decree of June 21, 1771, banknotes in denominations of 75 rubles were discontinued and withdrawn from circulation. The size of the banknotes 1769-1773. 190 x 250 mm. These banknotes are rare and are of collector's interest.

Initially, the issue of banknotes was a great success, but since there was only a copper coin in the bank, the banknotes were exchanged only for it. This provision was enshrined in law by a decree of January 22, 1770. Thus, the banknote was firmly tied to the copper coin, which from now on became in fact only a means of exchange for the latter. At the beginning of the existence of the new monetary system, this disparity could not yet greatly influence the purchasing power of the new ruble, not backed by precious metal. Since 1780, the import and export of bank notes abroad was prohibited: the banknote ruble ceased to be convertible. At the same time, the monetary allocation increased, and from the second half of the 1780s. a sharp decline in the exchange rate of paper money began, pulling with it its exchange equivalent - copper coins. Price scissors appeared, from now on there were two independent monetary units in the country: the silver ruble, backed by precious metal reserves in the treasury and equal to 100 silver kopecks, and the assignation ruble, unbacked by anything other than the population’s trust in the authorities and equal to 100 exclusively copper kopecks.

Banknotes 1786-1818

By the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the rate of banknotes fell sharply. Military costs Russian Federation were so great that in 1814-1815 the exchange rate was 20 kopecks per ruble

The government promised to reduce the amount of paper money, but it was never kept. The manifesto of June 1787 provided for the number of banknotes at 100 million rubles, but it grew to 57.7 million rubles.

In order to undermine the Russian economy, Napoleon began issuing counterfeit banknotes. It was difficult to distinguish a fake banknote from a real one - the fakes often looked even more convincing because they were printed on better paper. Unless the signatures were made in a typographical way (on the original banknotes these were genuine signatures made in ink). Some fakes had spelling errors: for example, the word “walking” on the fakes was displayed as “holyacheyu”.

Banknotes of 1802

Banknotes of this type are known only in samples. Number 515001 is the same on all issue notes. The sizes of banknotes of each denomination are not the same.

The Assignation Bank of the Russian Empire, founded in 1768 to issue and distribute paper money, acquired monopoly Western European features from the end of the 18th century. Through accounting offices created in 1797, he provided loans to the merchants. For a short time, metal banknotes were even minted in his name. The bank's possessions included copper smelting and ironworks. However, by 1818 all these privileges were destroyed. The mint was closed in 1805, and the accounting offices were annexed to the State Commercial Bank, established in 1817.

Subsequently, the bank, as at its founding, focused only on issues related to the circulation of banknotes. At a meeting of the Council of State Credit Institutions, which opened on February 22, 1818, it was emphasized that the monetary resources of this institution were divided into “provision” and “reserve” amounts. The first was called “capital” and was intended for the exchange of dilapidated banknotes. It was determined at 6 million rubles and divided in parts between St. Petersburg, Moscow and exchange offices. The reserve amount was intended to replenish this “capital”. In addition, funds from it were sent to government institutions in exchange for old banknotes received from them.

The building of the Assignation Bank in St. Petersburg on Sadovaya Street (engraving by B. Patersen, 1807):

With the establishment of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers in 1810, the issue of paper banknotes was concentrated there. Then they went to the reception and audit department, and after that they signed. Only after this long procedure did they end up in the Assignation Bank, from where they were distributed to various organizations and individuals, and also exchanged for worn-out ones.

Since the Ministry of Finance had only approximate data on the amount of banknotes in circulation among the population, their quantity had to be clarified. On the other hand, it was necessary to protect paper banknotes from numerous counterfeits, including high quality ones, which flooded Russia in 1812 and were known as Napoleonic ones. They differed from the genuine ones only by two subtle spelling errors (in the words “walking” and “state”) and typographical facsimiles of the signatures, while the real signatures were ink and handwritten.

Counterfeit copies are known in two denominations: 25 and 50 rubles. It is widely believed that they were printed on specially made presses, one of which was installed by the French at the Preobrazhenskoe Old Believer Cemetery near Moscow. However, they began making fake signs back in 1810 - first in the Paris suburb of Montrouge, then in Dresden and Warsaw.

The counterfeit banknotes were intended primarily to pay for fodder and food, goods and services in the occupied areas. Napoleon used similar tactics in Austria back in the 1800s. It is reliably known that in the years 1813-1819, Napoleonic fakes were seized in the amount of 5.6 million rubles. Thus, the total volume of such counterfeits was less than 1% of all paper money circulating at that time (in 1818 - 798 million rubles) and could not significantly spur inflation and upset the monetary economy of the huge empire.

The main reason for inflation was to cover military expenses. In conditions when the credit markets of Europe were closed to Russia, the issue of banknotes remained almost the main means of financing the war for the Minister of Finance. In 1815, when the Russian army was in Paris, the rate of banknotes fell to an all-time low in its history. For blue 5 rubles they gave only one “ruble.”

It is noteworthy that with the advance of the Russian army into Europe in 1813-1815. To service the quartered troops, “exchange offices” of the Assignation Bank began to be organized. The order to organize them was given to Kutuzov on January 13, 1813. It indicated that Russian troops should pay the population of Poland and the German states through which they passed during the campaign against Paris, with Russian banknotes. To exchange them for specie, exchange offices were established in Warsaw, Berlin, Bromberg, Kalisz, Königsberg and Frankfurt am Main. Instead of paper money, they issued receipts, according to which payments were to be made in Grodno, Vilna, Warsaw and St. Petersburg.

Unfortunately, very little is known about these companies. There is information that in 1813, Ivan Ivanovich Lamansky, the future senator and director of the Special Chancellery for Credit, the father of the famous economist and banker Evgeny Ivanovich Lamansky, worked in one of them (Berlin).

However, Russian officers did not always pay even with such surrogates. It is known that Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, the future governor of the Caucasus, paid more than 1.5 million rubles in banknotes for the officers of the occupation corps, which he commanded in Maubeuge. According to a contemporary, this somewhat upset his large fortune, which he soon increased thanks to a profitable marriage.

In 1819, as part of the reforms carried out by Guryev, new types of paper money of the Russian Empire were introduced, which were more difficult to counterfeit. Their samples were approved by Alexander I on February 14 and July 4 of the same year. They differed from the previous ones in their sophisticated graphic design. For the first time, they featured the image of the state emblem - a double-headed eagle. Moreover, each denomination had its own watermark, different from the others. If we looked at them in the light, we could clearly see the text in both “dark” and “light” letters.

This money became the third and last type of banknotes that circulated in the first quarter of the century before last. Banknotes from previous issues (sample 1786) could be exchanged for them. By 1820, more than 632 million rubles worth of old papers were exchanged. By January 1, 1824, their number in circulation was finally determined at almost 596 million rubles.

At Guryev’s initiative, a law was introduced to stop further issuance of banknotes, but their stock exchange status still increased very little. In the last year of the reign of Alexander I, the average annual exchange rate of the paper ruble on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange was 26.4 kopecks. In comparison with 1801 (71.7 kopecks), this meant an increase in its inflation almost three times, which became a kind of result of Alexander’s reign. The disorganized paper and monetary circulation of the great Russian Empire, which defeated Napoleon, could not satisfy Nicholas I, who ascended the throne, who would set improvement of this situation among the main tasks of his reign.

*Based on materials from Ph.D. A. Bugrova (“Motherland”).

To be more precise, today, January 9, is associated with another milestone in the formation and development of the financial sector of the Russian state. But first, a little from the history of money itself on a global scale, so to speak.

According to historians, the first mention of money in our usual understanding dates back to the seventh century BC. It was in Libya, and the first monetary units were coins. For their manufacture they used “electron” - an alloy of gold and silver.

The paper equivalent of a unit of value of goods (services) is much younger than its metal predecessor, it is only seven centuries old. The first paper money appeared in China in the fourteenth century. And the reason for this, according to past researchers, was an acute shortage of raw materials (copper) for making coins. It was then that an alternative solution was found - to use sheets of paper with drawings instead of coins. True, these “candy wrappers” did not last long: the value of paper money in a short period decreased by more than 70 times due to the banal greed of the rulers, who printed them as much as they wanted, and as a result, they soon had to return to coins again.

In Russia, the Celestial Empire’s experience was repeated four centuries later. The first paper money was introduced by the manifesto of Catherine II (Catherine the Second the Great, née Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, May 2, 1729 - November 17, 1796). The document is dated December 29, 1768, according to the new style January 9, 1769. The first Russian banknotes were banknotes.

Banknote is a type of securities and banknotes. On Russian banknotes the inscriptions “Acts for the benefit of this” and “Love for the Fatherland” were used.

Before the beginning of the reign of Catherine II in Russia, copper coins were in use. Gold and silver, which were valued abroad, were used mainly to cover the annually growing military and palace expenses. A solid source of income for the state treasury was the minting of copper coins, which were used to exchange large coins made of precious metals. But by the time of the reign of Catherine II, Russian finances were already in a deplorable state: since there was a catastrophic shortage of silver and gold, the share of copper money began to grow alarmingly, and it became the main means of payment within the country. The impoverishment of the treasury during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna can be judged by the fact that St. Petersburg fashion shops refused to sell goods for the imperial court on credit.

But there were other difficulties: delivery of coins was a very difficult matter in every sense: 1000 rubles in copper coins weighed 62.5 poods (1 pood = 16.38 kg) or more than a ton (1023.75 kg). In addition, calculating copper took a lot of time and was often carried out with errors. All this served as the reason for the introduction of paper money into circulation. The historic decision was made public on January 9, 1769: with her manifesto, Empress Catherine II ordered the issue of banknotes in denominations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles.

“First, We made sure that the burden of the copper coin, which approves its own price, burdens its circulation; secondly, that the long-distance transportation of any coin is subject to many inconveniences, and, finally, thirdly, We saw that the great disadvantage is that in Russia, following the example of various European regions, there are not yet such established places that would repair proper money turnover and transfer capital of private people everywhere without the slightest difficulty and in accordance with the benefit of everyone. Daily experience shows what fruits many states have reaped from such institutions, mostly called banks. For, in addition to the benefits already mentioned, they bring him the benefit that issued to the public from those places, for various amounts, printed, with signing, obligations of various names, through their credit, are voluntarily used among the people just like cash coins, without however having The associated difficulties in transportation and the difficulties in saving them significantly facilitate the circulation of money. Considering all these briefly explained circumstances with the space of Russia, and feeling how necessary it is to facilitate the circulation of money in it, We are pleased to begin the establishment of exchange banks in Our Empire...”

Thus, simultaneously with the introduction of banknotes as the paper equivalent of coin money, the first banks were established. The same decree set out in detail the operating procedures of financial institutions. The manifesto stated that banknotes circulate on a par with coins and are subject to immediate exchange for coins on demand in any quantity. It was established that the issue of paper money should not exceed the cash amount of coin held in the bank. The initial capital of the Assignation Bank was 1 million rubles in copper coins - 500 thousand rubles each in the St. Petersburg and Moscow offices. The limit on the issue of banknotes was also set at 1 million rubles. The bank issued the following denominations: 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles. The money of this issue had a primitive appearance, which simplified falsification. Banknotes in denominations of 25 rubles were converted into 75. Therefore, by decree of June 21, 1771, banknotes in denominations of 75 rubles were discontinued and withdrawn from circulation. The size of banknotes from 1769-1773 is 90 by 250 millimeters.

All banknotes were issued in the same size and color and differed only in the denomination number and resembled the title page of a book: vertical format, elegant fonts, one-color printing, hand-made white paper with filigree - figured watermarks. In the center was a double-headed eagle with outstretched wings and a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, but not crowned. On the left, in a semicircle, there was an inscription relating to the eagle - “Rests and protects.” At the top is the inscription “Love for the Fatherland”, at the bottom - “Acts for the benefit of the Fatherland”. On the right was an image of an impregnable rock, below it was a raging sea and the heads of monsters. Above all this is the inscription “Unharmed.”

Initially, the issue of banknotes was a great success, and since the bank contained only a copper coin, another decree of January 22, 1770 tied the banknote to a copper coin, which from now on became in fact only a means of exchange for the latter. At the beginning of the existence of the new monetary system, this disparity could not yet greatly influence the purchasing power of the new ruble, not backed by precious metal.

10 years later - in 1780 - the import and export of bank notes abroad was prohibited: the banknote ruble ceased to be convertible, and from the second half of the 1780s, a sharp decline in the exchange rate of paper money began, and with it the exchange equivalent - copper coins. Two independent monetary units also appeared - the silver ruble, backed by precious metal reserves in the treasury and equal to 100 silver kopecks, and the assignat ruble, not backed by anything other than the population's trust in the authorities, and equal to 100 exclusively copper kopecks.

Speaking about the appearance of the first paper money in Rus', in fairness it should be noted that the first attempt to introduce banknotes was made by Emperor Peter III (Peter the Third Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp; February 21, 1728 - July 17, 1762, Russian Emperor in 1762 , husband of Catherine II). On May 25, 1762, the emperor signed a decree establishing a state bank, which was to issue bank notes in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles for a total amount of 5 million rubles. This order of the tsar was not carried out as a result of a palace coup carried out by Catherine II, who, in turn, nevertheless returned to the idea of ​​​​issuing banknotes, however, six years later.

The printing press worked non-stop: over the next 27 years, banknotes worth 157 million 700 thousand rubles were issued. This was enough for the first and second Turkish wars, the annexation of Crimea and the development of Novorossiya, the division of Poland, grandiose construction in the northern capital and the capital, and other Russian cities.

It is also curious that, unlike many Western European countries where similar financial experiments were carried out, the uncontrolled issue of paper money did not lead Russia to the bankruptcy of public finances. The reasons for this phenomenon remained unclear to European economists. One might say, this is the very case when “Russia cannot be understood with the mind, and cannot be measured with a common yardstick.” But Russian economists and analysts explain this as follows: firstly, the Russian government could issue banknotes secured by land - a truly inexhaustible resource in our country. Another guarantee of the strength of the then monetary system lay in the mentality and authority of the throne. The first Russian economist - theorist, contemporary of Peter I, publicist, entrepreneur and inventor Ivan Tikhonovich Pososhkov wrote: “We are not foreigners and we do not calculate the price of copper, but we magnify the name of our Tsar. We have such a strong word for His Most Illustrious Majesty that if I had ordered a ruble inscription to be put on a copper coin, then it would be sold for a ruble and would be traded forever and ever.” In other words, if the tsar wrote “ruble”, even on a copper penny, even on a simple piece of paper, then it is a ruble. In any case, contemporaries testify that this was exactly how things were at that time. And no inflation. For the time being, for the time being.

The rate of banknotes fell sharply at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries: in 1814-1815, only 20 kopecks in silver were given for one ruble in banknotes.

In 1840, as a result of the monetary reform of the Minister of Finance Yegor Frantsevich Kankrin (Georg Ludwig Daniil Kankrin, 1774–1845), the assignat ruble was abolished. Copper coins, previously tied to the assignat ruble, again received a rigid exchange rate with silver.

Afterwards, monetary reforms, caused by a change in the political system (revolutions in February and October 1917 and the collapse of the USSR in 1991), as well as numerous financial crises of a national and global scale, were carried out more than once. Both the appearance and denomination of banknotes changed. Today, financial transactions are increasingly carried out non-cash. But paper money is still in use, albeit completely different from its predecessors, as well as from those that will come into circulation in the future.

And, finally, a few more interesting facts from the history and modernity of Russian money:

Catherine II ordered the very first Russian banknotes to be made from old palace tablecloths and napkins.

Self-made paper appeared only in the second half of the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible. Later, under Peter I, they learned how to make stamp paper with watermarks; the sovereign approved the model for it himself. Before setting up their own production, Russia for many years used paper that was delivered from Italy, France, England, Germany and Holland.

The first Russian banknotes are the only banknotes that depict two portraits at once - Peter I and Catherine II. Local watermarks - portraits of the Emperor and Empress on old banknotes - are considered works of art.

By mid-1771, they stopped printing 75-ruble banknotes due to the fact that scammers had learned to convert 25-ruble banknotes into 75-ruble banknotes. To further deter counterfeiters, the death penalty was introduced for counterfeiting money.

In order to undermine the Russian economy, Napoleon began issuing counterfeit banknotes. It was very difficult to distinguish them from the real ones, and often the fakes looked even more convincing because they were printed on better paper. True, on the fake banknotes the signatures were made in a typographical way, while on the original banknotes these were genuine signatures made in ink. Some fakes had spelling errors: for example, the word “walking” on the fakes was displayed as “holyacheyu”.

In everyday life, paper money was often named according to the main color of the bill: “yellow” - 1 ruble, “green” - 3 rubles, “little blue” - 5 rubles, “red” - 10 rubles, “little white” - 25 rubles, “rainbow” - 100 rubles and “gray” - 200 rubles. Nowadays, these banknotes are a rarity and have great collection value.

The smallest Russian coin - a penny - appeared during the reign of Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV Vasilyevich Smaragd, 1530-1584, Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus', the first Russian Tsar). By his order, “penny money” with the image of “the face of the sovereign” began to be minted for the state treasury.

The largest coin in Russia - the "imperial" - worth 10 rubles weighed 11.61 grams. And the heaviest silver coin was issued in Russia in 1999. Her weight is 3 kilograms.

In the USSR, only one gold coin was issued - 10 rubles. Golden chervonets were issued from 1923 until the mid-80s. To increase the strength of modern banknotes, in the production of money paper, in addition to cellulose, flax and cotton are also used.

The modern Russian 100-ruble banknote with the image of the Bolshoi Theater is recognized as the sexiest banknote in the world. This fact is recorded in the Russian Book of Records.

According to forecasts by the Central Bank of Russia, over the next few years the number of five thousandth banknotes in circulation will reach 15-20 percent of the total amount of all Russian money in use.

The idea of ​​issuing banknotes in Russia arose in the 40s of the 18th century during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna (1709-1761), but was rejected by the Senate, which found it reprehensible that “papers” would be in circulation instead of money.

After the accession of Peter III (1728-1762) to the throne in 1761, the state treasury was empty, and therefore in May 1762 a decree was promulgated on the issuance of bank notes replacing metal money in circulation, which read: “There will be ... monetary sums like “The most important and necessary methods are not available, and the 4 million sought by the Senate for emergency expenses cannot be received so quickly, then His Imperial Majesty finds a convenient and closest means in making bank-zettels.”

The decree set out the plan for the creation and basis of the activities of the State Bank. Tickets were prepared in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles, but their release was prevented by a coup organized by the emperor’s wife, as a result of which Peter III was killed and Catherine II (1729-1796) was elevated to the throne. However, the “convenient and closest means” of receiving money was not forgotten for long.

Six years later, Catherine II’s manifesto of December 29, 1768 announced: “We are pleased to begin the establishment of exchange banks in our Empire and hope that through this we will provide a new sign of maternal care for all our subjects.”

On January 1, 1769, two banks were established: one in St. Petersburg, the other in Moscow, with a fixed capital of 50,000 rubles in copper each. Banks were responsible for exchanging copper money for state banknotes in four denominations: 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles. They were printed in black ink on white paper with watermarks.

In St. Petersburg and Moscow, private individuals were required to pay at least one banknote of 25 rubles for every 500 rubles of government payments. The issue of banknotes was motivated by the fact that “the burden of the copper coin, which approves its own price, burdens its circulation.”

But a more significant reason was the need to find funds to wage the Russian-Turkish war. According to the plan of the Prosecutor General of the Senate, Prince A.A. Vyazemsky was supposed to issue banknotes in the amount of 2.5 million rubles backed by an exchange fund of 2 million rubles and, thus, use 500 thousand rubles to cover government expenses.

Banknotes were initially popular, thanks to which banks were able to charge in their favor for exchanging copper money for them. In 1772-1788, in addition to St. Petersburg and Moscow, copper money was exchanged for banknotes in 22 more cities. There, through special exchange offices, unhindered exchange of banknotes for copper money was carried out. Banknotes made it possible to replace copper money, which was extremely inconvenient for transportation and storage. In addition, copper money was not enough in the conditions of revived trade turnover. In addition, the banknotes partially had the so-called tax security (they were accepted as government payments).

Depreciation rate

The ease and convenience of making banknotes led to the fact that their number began to grow quickly and non-stop. By 1786, there were banknotes in circulation in the amount of 46,219,250 rubles. Nevertheless, the rate of banknotes remained stable (not lower than 98-99%). In 1786, Count I.I. Shuvalov developed a plan for replenishing the treasury, proposing to increase the issue of banknotes to 100 million rubles and link their circulation with credit operations, which, in his opinion, was supposed to ensure the purchasing power of banknotes.

It was assumed that 17.5 million would be used to issue mortgage (i.e., secured by real estate) loans to the nobility for a period of 20 years at 8% per annum, 11 million to cities for improvement at 7% per annum with repayment after 22 years, 4 million to expenses of the tsar's cabinet, 2.5 million rubles to reinforce the state treasury and 15 million will remain in case of war.

On June 28, 1786, in pursuance of Shuvalov’s plan, a manifesto was issued, which ordered the old banknotes (previous issues) to be exchanged for new ones, and the entire issue to be increased to 100 million rubles. This increase in the number of banknotes was motivated by the lack of money in circulation supporting “trade, handicrafts, crafts and agriculture,” and it was solemnly assured “by the holiness of the royal word for us and the successors of the imperial throne” that the amount of banknotes in circulation would never exceed 100 million rubles. At the same time, the manifesto announced the formation of one (instead of two) assignation bank.

In other words, the government intended to create a state bank of issue, the issue of tickets of which would be limited to 100 million rubles. For the right to issue a certain part of bank notes (notes), the bank had to transfer the government as an interest-free (and partly irrevocable) loan. The State Bank was allowed to carry out the following commercial operations:
1. accounting of bills.
2. acceptance of contracts and purchase of copper.
3. operations related to foreign trade (sale of copper abroad, purchase and sale of gold and silver, transfer of capital, etc.).

New banknotes were issued in denominations not only of 25, 50 and 100 rubles, as before, but also of 5 and 10 rubles. Moreover, by manifestos dated August 3, 1788, January 23, 1789 and March 11, 1791, previously issued notes in denominations of 50 and 100 rubles were planned to be replaced with smaller ones (5 and 10 rubles) in the amount of 30 million rubles.

This was supposed to contribute to the spread of the circulation of banknotes among the general population, and thereby to the displacement of metallic money, which gradually began to more and more take on the character of a commodity, while banknotes, on the contrary, gradually became credit banknotes (without recognizing them by law as mandatory payment means between private individuals).

On these grounds, notes worth more than 50 million rubles were issued, and the Moscow and St. Petersburg Assignation Banks were transformed into the State Assignation Bank. However, the situation soon changed. In 1787, a new Russian-Turkish war began. It was followed by wars with Sweden and Poland, and at the end of the reign of Catherine II - with Persia. The need for money was increasing. Bank notes worth 111 million rubles were issued in 1790, 124 million rubles in 1793, 157.7 million rubles in 1796, of which only 32 million rubles were replaced in circulation by metal coins.

In connection with the difficulties encountered in exchanging banknotes for copper coins, in 1789 an order was issued “not to release large sums into one hand, so that no harmful monopoly arises from this.” As the number of banknotes increased, their rate began to fall rapidly. Back in 1787, it was on average defined as 97 to 100, but already in 1788 it fell to 92, in 1790 to 87 and in 1795 even to 68. During the reign of Paul I (1754-1801), the issue of banknotes to cover financial needs continue, although at the same time some attempts are being made to strengthen the rate of banknotes. On December 12, 1797, the State Assignation Bank was allowed to issue a new issue of notes in the amount of 53,595,600 rubles.

In an effort to fix the rate of banknotes, but not being able to bring it to parity with the silver ruble, the financial department decided to exchange banknotes for silver with an agio (lazhem) in favor of silver of 30 kopecks. For this purpose, “considerable sums, including gold and silver, were contributed to the exchange fund in order to, by exchanging banknotes for them, achieve the goal of securing a loan for the borrower.”

However, soon the State Assignation Bank was unable to meet the exchange requirements (since the market rate was lower than that established by law). The exchange fund was depleted. In connection with this decree of July 21, 1798, it was decided to increase the rate to 40 kopecks per 1 ruble. The exchange fund did not disappear completely, but the attempt to eliminate fluctuations in the rate of banknotes remained unfulfilled.

The Italian campaign, which required a significant increase in military spending, led to another issue and a significant decrease in the rate of banknotes (in 1800 - 65 per 100). By issuing banknotes, it was possible to pay off various internal debts, although, of course, this method of payment cannot be considered ideal.

During the difficult period for the state from 1805 to 1810, the only way to cover the cash deficit in the face of difficulties in obtaining loans was to issue banknotes, which began to be produced without any control and in amounts far exceeding the needs of commodity circulation. With the decline in production due to distrust in paper money both within the state and especially abroad, the exchange rate of the assignat ruble constantly decreased and by the end of 1810 it was barely its nominal value.

Under the pressure of circumstances with the active participation of Count M.M. Speransky, the closest adviser to Alexander I, the government took a number of measures to streamline the monetary system, as stated in the manifesto of February 2, 1810:

1. All bank notes in circulation were recognized as public debt, secured by the wealth of Russia.
2. The issuance of new banknotes was henceforth stopped and was allowed only to replace old banknotes.
3. The merchants of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Riga received the right to nominate one representative each as directors of the State Assignation Bank.
4. Exchange offices were established in all provincial and other large cities.
5. To regulate the circulation of banknotes, it was planned to use a fixed-term internal loan.

In order to gradually repay the government's debt, the manifesto of May 27, 1810 announced the issue of an internal loan of 100 million rubles in banknotes. All proceeds were ordered to be publicly burned. The same manifesto established a commission for the repayment of public debts.

The Manifesto of June 20, 1810 established new foundations for the monetary system: “The main... measure of all coins formed in the state is the silver ruble.” The silver ruble was to become a universal legal unit of account for all payments in Russia. On August 29, 1810, the copper coin was declared a bargaining chip. Along with the copper one, a silver small change coin was also installed.

On April 9, 1812, a manifesto “On the introduction of universally uniform circulation of state bank notes” followed, according to which taxes (taxes and arrears) were to be collected in notes at 2 rubles for 1 ruble in silver, and customs, forestry, postal income, from state lands - at 3 rubles in banknotes for 1 ruble in silver or banknotes at the exchange rate of the day. As for settlements between private individuals, all payments in accordance with agreements, transactions, contracts concluded after the publication of the manifesto were to be made exclusively in banknotes, and according to previous contractual acts - in silver or banknotes at the exchange rate of the day.

These good intentions, however, did not come true. Patriotic War and foreign military campaigns of 1813-1814. determined in 1812-1815. a number of issues in the amount of 244.4 million rubles. This entailed a significant drop in the exchange rate, which reached its limit in 1814-1815, when the banknote ruble was valued at only 20 kopecks in silver.

Nevertheless, thanks to the measures taken in 1816, it again rose to the previous level of 25 kopecks in silver. There were, as it were, two currencies in the country - metal and paper, the mutual value of which was established not by law, but by agreement of private individuals, which differed for almost every transaction. This situation, of course, was extremely unfavorable for the development of the country's productive forces, and therefore the question of regulating monetary relations again arose.

The manifesto of April 16, 1817 reorganized the Commission for the Repayment of State Debts. To reduce the number of banknotes, and in 1817 there were 836 million rubles in circulation, it was planned to repay part of them by again resorting to loans. On May 10, 1817, a provision on permanent deposits was introduced, in exchange for which tickets were issued for the deposited amount with a 29% premium, bringing 6% of income.

On June 26, 1818, the second regulation on deposits was issued, according to which 85 rubles of contribution were counted as 100. As a result, it was possible to attract 108.4 million rubles. In addition, bonds of two 5% external loans were issued, a significant part of which was used to repay the notes.

The amount of banknotes in circulation was reduced by 229.3 million rubles, of which by 10.9 million rubles due to paper money not presented for production in 1819-1820. exchange for banknotes of a new type. The total amount of banknotes was increased by 1823 to 595,776,310 rubles. However, as a result of the withdrawal, there was only a slight increase in the rate of banknotes, which has no practical significance.

For this reason, in 1822, the withdrawal of banknotes was suspended, and the total number of them in circulation did not change until the reform of 1839-1843. The government sought to keep paper money in circulation by requiring that all government payments be made exclusively in banknotes. By this time, the appearance of arbitrary crap belongs, i.e. additional payments depending on a private agreement for agreeing to accept payment in banknotes rather than in silver.

The arbitrariness of screw-ups brought such chaos into monetary circulation and caused so many complaints that in 1839 the need for monetary reform became obvious in order to establish a mandatory exchange rate for banknotes. Its initiator was Count E.F. Kankrin, then Minister of Finance.

As a result of the withdrawal of banknotes from circulation, which burdened the state treasury with a debt of more than 252 million rubles in silver with annual interest of up to 15 million rubles, it was possible to increase the value of banknotes by only 10 kopecks. E.F. Kankrin considered it necessary to stop their seizure, and use the 30 million rubles allocated for this operation to pay off interest debts. Later it became obvious that he was right.

For several years, when the banknotes were not redeemed, they not only did not lose their value, but their exchange rate even increased slightly. In 1839, the silver ruble became the main payment coin. State banknotes received the status of auxiliary banknotes, and their constant exchange rate was established: 30 rubles in banknotes per silver ruble.

All payments and all kinds of monetary transactions were ordered to be made in silver coins. The exchange bill rate was quoted only in silver. District treasuries were charged with the obligation to exchange banknotes for silver, and vice versa - silver for banknotes at the established rate, but with the issuance of no more than 100 rubles in silver per person.

Establishment of a depository office

An important event was the decree on the establishment, on January 1, 1840, of a depository office at the State Commercial Bank, which accepted silver deposits for storage and issued tickets in return for the corresponding amounts. Initially these were tickets in denominations of 3, 5, 10 and 25 rubles, but later tickets in denominations of 1, 50 and 100 rubles were introduced.

Each private individual could deposit a certain amount of silver into the depository office and in return receive tickets, which were recognized as equal to a silver coin. Tickets could be easily exchanged for silver. By the end of 1840, there were deposit notes worth 24,169,400 rubles in circulation. The deposit tickets were a complete success.

Visitors literally besieged the cash register. Everyone was in a hurry to get tickets in exchange for gold and silver. The cash desk operated until September 1, 1843. Then the issue of deposit tickets was discontinued. The change in the monetary system and the accumulation of metallic money in deposit offices led to the goal outlined by Count E.F. Kankrin, - to the devaluation of banknotes. The release of deposit notes was a precursor to the replacement of banknotes with credit notes. On June 1, 1843, the famous manifesto “On the replacement of banknotes and other banknotes with credit notes” was published.

Credit tickets

Introduction of credit tickets

The idea of ​​issuing credit notes belonged to Nicholas I (1796-1855), who first intended to issue notes that would bring a certain income to their holders. But later it was decided to issue credit notes that act as money. The Manifesto of July 1, 1841 allowed issuing loans secured by land and buildings with pre-prepared credit notes (50 ruble bills), which would circulate on a par with money.

They were issued “to facilitate the circulation of credit institutions and to increase in popular circulation the mass of easily movable tokens, exchangeable for coins, gold and silver, ruble for ruble, and secured by the entire property of the Empire.” This time, a permanent exchange fund of gold and silver coins was established, which was supposed to increase with each new issue of banknotes and amount to at least one third of the nominal amount of banknotes issued for circulation.

Thus, three types of paper money were in circulation at the same time: banknotes, deposit notes and credit notes. To eliminate the diversity of banknotes, by the manifesto of June 1, 1843, they were all replaced by state banknotes. The new credit ruble was equal to the silver ruble and 3 rubles 50 kopecks in banknotes.

During the period 1843-1852. They continued to resort to issuing paper money, but their exchange was carried out completely freely. Confidence in the firm and unchanging policy of the Russian government encouraged foreign entrepreneurs, frightened by the growth of the popular liberation movement of the late 1840s in their own countries, to transfer their capital to Russia. In this regard, credit cards enjoyed high confidence among the population at that time.

Trying to stay the course

But such prosperity in the field of monetary circulation did not last long: on October 20, 1853, the Crimean War was declared. Since the attempt at an external loan failed, and they did not dare to take an internal loan, all that remained was to resort to issuing paper money. Without a corresponding increase in the exchange fund, the purchasing power of the credit ruble began to decline and by 1858 fell by 20%. I had to cancel the exchange of credit tickets. Due to the sharp fluctuation of the exchange rate, the government resorts to a number of measures to maintain it, spending about 20 million rubles on this, but does not achieve the desired results.

A shortage of silver coins was discovered everywhere; it became profitable to melt them into products and sell them abroad. In view of this, the government in 1860 decided to issue new silver change coins of 20, 15, 10 and 5 kopecks with a decrease in their internal denomination by 15% compared to the nominal price.

The fineness and weight of silver coins of 1 ruble, 50 and 25 kopecks were left unchanged. However, in order to suppress the ongoing outflow from the country of silver of the 72nd standard, by decree of March 21, 1864, the standard was lowered to the 48th, and the internal denomination of silver coins was reduced to 50%. The mandatory issuance of small change coins for each payment was limited to 3 rubles. Treasury institutions were obliged to accept it at nominal price for any amount.

After the end of the Crimean War in 1856, industry and trade began to gradually recover. In the early 1860s, the financial situation of Russia improved, and therefore, on January 1, 1862, the exchange of paper money was restored. This operation absorbed a special loan and part of the exchange fund of 107 million rubles. Credit notes worth 79.3 million rubles were seized, 45.6 million of them were destroyed, and the rest were then released into circulation again.

In 1864, the exchange of paper money was suspended. With the announcement of the Russian-Turkish war in 1877, another issue followed, as a result of which already in 1878 the credit ruble lost 1/3 of its purchasing power. By January 1879, there were credit notes in circulation for a previously unheard-of amount of 1,188 million rubles, with a completely insignificant exchange fund.

In order to improve the monetary system, by decree of January 1, 1881, it was planned to stop issuing and reduce the number of banknotes, which by that time were in circulation in the amount of 1133.5 million rubles. It was planned to withdraw credit notes worth 400 million rubles (50 million per year) over eight years in the hope of increasing the purchasing power of the ruble, improving the exchange rate and creating conditions for restoring exchange. However, the treasury did not have enough funds to annually withdraw credit notes by 50 million rubles. As of February 1, 1885, the amount of tickets in circulation was 1,046 million rubles. In six years, i.e. by 1891, only 87 million rubles of credit notes were withdrawn from circulation instead of the estimated 300 million.

Preparing for a new reform

Such a slight reduction in the number of banknotes did not have a noticeable effect on their rate, which continued to remain at the level of 1881. In 1892, preparations began for a new monetary reform. First of all, it was necessary to accumulate a significant supply of metallic money for exchange and strengthen the exchange rate of the credit ruble.

Already in 1870, based on the experience of Western European countries, it was possible to foresee that Russia would have to switch from silver to gold circulation and, therefore, restore exchange in relation to the gold unit. The gold reserve at which exchange became actually possible was accumulated by 1897.

Beginning in 1876, customs duties were collected in gold coins. The State Bank was allowed to accept from private individuals foreign bank notes redeemable for gold, domestic securities issued for metallic money, gold bullion, assignments of mining boards redeemable for gold, expenses, i.e. bills of exchange, in settlements for foreign trade, paid in gold, and issue in return deposit receipts, which customs authorities were obliged to accept as payment at a nominal price, and the bank exchanged for semi-imperials. Deposit receipts were issued in four denominations: 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles.

This measure, caused by the need to find funds to cover foreign payments, at the same time was a harbinger of the transition from silver to gold currency. At the same time, restrictions are imposed on the role of silver in monetary circulation. A decree of October 9, 1876 suspended the law on the basis of which the St. Petersburg Mint bought silver from the population for minting coins at 22 rubles 75 kopecks per pound. In 1881, purchases were resumed, but at the exchange price of silver.

When the first part of the preparatory work was completed, i.e. gold reserves had been accumulated and the stability of the credit ruble exchange rate had been ensured, one more important task remained to be solved - to accustom the population to gold circulation. According to the letter of the law, the main Russian monetary unit was the silver ruble.

The gold coin was not formally a means of monetary circulation, and the parties entering into any transaction could not stipulate the form of payment in gold. To remove this restriction, a law was passed on May 8, 1895, which allowed settlements for transactions in Russian gold coins and at the same time gave some priority in relation to stamp duty. Payment could be made either in gold coins or in credit notes at the exchange rate for gold on the day of payment.

On May 24 of the same year, the institutions of the State Bank were authorized to buy and sell gold coin at the rate fixed by the Minister of Finance. Before this, the State Bank had the right to accept gold coins only at the nominal price indicated on it: semi-imperial 5 rubles, and imperial 10 rubles. By the mentioned law, the bank was allowed to buy gold coins at a certain rate: 7 rubles 50 kopecks for a half-imperial and 15 rubles for an imperial. Thus, exchange was actually established, since everyone could present 7 rubles 50 kopecks or 15 rubles in credit notes to the State Bank and receive half-imperial or imperial for them.

On July 20, 1895, State Bank institutions were authorized to accept gold coin for current accounts and deposits at a certain rate, and on November 6, 1895, this permission was extended to government institutions for all payments. These measures finally prepared the transition to a gold currency. The manifesto of January 3, 1896 introduced the minting of a new gold coin of 5 rubles, equal to 1/3 of the imperial, and then the gold ruble, equal to 17,424 shares of pure gold, was declared the monetary unit. Since 1898, a gold coin of 10 rubles began to be minted. The imperial and semi-imperial of the previous coinage remained in circulation and were valued at 1.5 times more expensive than the new imperial.