Coin of Peter 1 - 1 ruble (1724), photo. Silver coins of Peter 1

The name of Peter 1 has already become synonymous with the word "innovation". It was this man who spent in Russia a huge number of transformations that turned the backward agrarian country into a world-class power. He also paid attention to the monetary system: after the reform of the beginning of the eighteenth century, a silver coin of Peter 1 with a denomination of one ruble appeared, in addition, copper kopecks were introduced, later gold rubles entered into circulation. But first things first.

How it all began

The first silver coins of Peter the Great are half a centin, half a pound, a hryvnia and ten money, which is the equivalent of five kopecks. It is interesting that the penny of a smaller denomination was minted from the copper alloy. There were, of course, gold coins, but they were released very little, which is why now they (the 1704 samples, for example, the year) are valued highly enough. Certain changes took place in 1718: two-ruble money was introduced into circulation with a portrait of the tsar. A peculiar sensation was the 1724. Peter 1 began her coinage in St. Petersburg.

Evolution of the ruble

Of course, the most important of the coins underwent changes during its existence. The very first sample, 1702, was minted on the basis of a thaler: the primary pattern was interrupted by the press, which is why it was partially preserved on some coins of that period.

The next coin of Peter 1 is 1707. Here there were only two options, differing only in the portrait of the king: one by Haupta, the other by Guen, a more prolific and talented artist. It was his portrait that was deposited on the ruble until 1723. Another innovation was the chasing of their own monetary circles instead of the primary thalers.

But in the future, the coins of Peter 1, the ruble in particular, worsened. First, the sample has decreased and, accordingly, the mass. The inscription on the reverse increased, saying "Maneta is a good price for the ruble", which did not add to the love for it: it was these samples of 1712-14 that were kept very little and all of them disgusting quality.

New turn

"The new price of ruble" is the new coin of Peter the Great. The coinage of them began in Moscow (only rubles returned to St. Petersburg in 1724), silver was used more. The circle of people who took part in the creation of money also expanded: scientists still can not accurately name the names of all engravers, because some of them simply did not sign their stamps. The most famous of them was Osip Kalashnikov, who was a "master" - this is the highest rank in the hierarchy of dowder carvers.

In 1721 Peter the Great became an emperor, and this could not but reflect the coin, which he decorated with the inscription of his new title. The number of these first imperial coins, 1722 years of coinage, is limited: a year before, too much metal was used from the reserves of the country, and the authorities did not want to spoil the quality of money. The obverse still used the portrait of the famous Guen.

The coins of Peter the Great in 1723 were already slightly different: a mantle was worn over the shoulders of the emperor from the ermine, and later a new money appeared , where the sovereign appeared in antique armor. There are only two varieties of these, platy, coins: with the sign of Kalashnikov and without it.

"Sunshine"

Contemporaries believe that it was impossible to stop Peter in his striving for change. So, he dreamed of his own mint in the capital, but the grandiose idea of the sovereign constantly prevented something. The collegial, as it was called, the mint opened its doors in 1723. And soon there was a new coin. Peter 1 1 ruble in 1724 ordered to coin on the thalers and on the obsolete Russian coins using the same technology as before: the metal was flattened by the press, and after it was painted a new, European, portrait of the sovereign.

Variations

This time the engravers displayed more imagination: the coins of 1724 differ not only in the portrait of the emperor, but also in individual decorative elements, the presence of which exerts a tremendous influence on the current price of Petrovsky rubles.

Equally valued collectors money, where on the obverse a circular inscription in the upper part of the coin is divided by a point or a cross (or a small cross). For them, amateurs want to get about nine hundred dollars. A higher class is considered to be rubles, where this uppermost inscription is divided by a star, large or small, - here the price of the question is already about nine hundred twenty dollars. Well, the most valuable is a coin, where the circular inscription is separate, in addition, there is also a trefoil, in this case the price increases to one and a half thousand!

The money also differed in the very portrait of the sovereign. The so-called "Sailor", in this image, Peter is depicted on a number of coins, is estimated from four hundred seventy to five hundred and fifty dollars, everything depends on the initials of the engraver. For the ruble, on which the sovereign is depicted in lats, such a reference to the money of 1722, collectors offer one thousand eight hundred dollars. And all the records beat Peter with his shoulder pads on the sleeve: the price of the coin is two thousand conventional units.

So what is next?

"Solnechniki" very soon became minted in another mint of St. Petersburg, Trubetskoy. The capital actively minted new coins until 1725, and they, by the way, differed from those produced in Moscow: the latter were several millimeters smaller in diameter. The amount of silver used was the same as in the earliest rubles, the beginning of the century, so the people were already satisfied with the quality of this money.

"Funeral rubles"

After the death of the emperor in 1725, the mints were not immediately transferred to the coinage of new coins, as was the case. The obverse changed only after four months, and even then, the portrait of the new empress, Catherine, was distinguished by modesty and restraint, the absence of signs of imperial power. According to one of the versions of numismatists, she wanted to emphasize this mourning for her deceased spouse. Over time, the coin of Peter 1 completely gave way to the "mourning" ruble.

Conclusion

The role of Peter the Great in Russian history is really huge. This man turned the stagnant world upside down, he changed everything he could change. It was the reforms of the first emperor that gave Russia the opportunity to become that great power that it had been for many years. And who knows, maybe this greatness would exist without a new monetary system that went down in history with its Petrovsky rubles.