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

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

The name of Peter 1 has already become synonymous with the word "innovation". It was this man who carried out a huge number of transformations in Russia that turned a backward agrarian country into a world-class power. He did not bypass the monetary system either: after the reform of the early eighteenth century, a silver coin of Peter the Great with a face value of one ruble appeared, in addition, copper kopecks were introduced, and later gold rubles also came into circulation. But first things first.

How it all began

The first silver coins of Peter the Great - half, half a half, hryvnia and ten money, which was the equivalent of five kopecks. Interestingly, smaller denominations of pennies were minted from a copper alloy. There were, of course, gold coins, but very few of them were produced, which is why now they (sample 1704, for example, of the year) are valued quite highly. Certain changes took place in 1718: two-ruble money with a portrait of the then tsar was put into circulation. The coin of 1724 also became a kind of sensation. Peter the Great began minting it in St. Petersburg.

Evolution of the ruble

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

The next coin of Peter 1 - 1707. There were only two versions here, differing only in the portrait of the king: one by Haupt, the other by Gouin, a more prolific and talented artist. It was his portrait that was applied to the ruble until 1723. Another innovation was the minting of our own coin circles instead of primary thalers.

But in the future, the coins of Peter the Great, the ruble in particular, deteriorated. First, the sample and, accordingly, the mass decreased. The inscription on the reverse, which read "Coin is a good price ruble", has increased, which did not add love to it at all: very few of these samples of 1712-14 have survived and they are all of disgusting quality.

A new twist

“COIN NEW PRICE RUBLE” - this was the beginning of the new coin of Peter 1. They were minted now in Moscow (rubles returned to St. Petersburg only in 1724), more silver was used. The circle of people who took part in the creation of money has also expanded: scientists still cannot accurately name all the engravers, because some of them simply did not sign their stamps. The most famous of them was Osip Kalashnikov, who was the "master" - this is the highest rank in the hierarchy of stamp carvers.

In 1721 Peter 1 became 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, minted in 1722, is limited: the year before, too much metal was used from the country's reserves, and the authorities did not want to spoil the quality of the money. The obverse still featured a portrait by the famous Gouin.

The coins of Peter the Great, issued in 1723, were already slightly different: an ermine mantle was thrown over the emperor’s shoulders, and a little later new money appeared, where the sovereign appeared in antique armor. There are only two varieties of these plate coins: with and without the Kalashnikov sign.

Sunflowers

Contemporaries believe that it was impossible to stop Peter in his desire for change. So, he dreamed of his own mint in the capital, but the sovereign's grandiose idea was constantly hindered by something. Collegiate, as it was called, the mint opened its doors in 1723. And soon a new coin appeared. Peter the Great ordered 1 ruble in 1724 to be minted on thalers and obsolete rubles on Russian coins using the same technology as before: the metal was flattened by a press, and then a new, European, portrait of the sovereign was applied to it.

Variations

This time the engravers showed 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 has a huge impact on the modernthe price of Petrovsky rubles.

Coin is equally valued by collectors, where on the obverse the circular inscription at the top of the coin is separated by a dot or a cross (or a small cross). For them, amateurs want to get about nine hundred dollars. Rubles are considered a higher class, where this very top inscription is separated by a star, large or small - here the issue price is already about nine hundred and twenty dollars. Well, the coin is considered the most valuable, where the circular inscription is separate, in addition, there is also a shamrock, in this case the price increases to one and a half thousand!

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

And then?

"Solnechniki" very soon began to be minted in another mint of St. Petersburg, Trubetskoy. The capital actively minted new coins until 1725, and by the way, they 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, at the beginning of the century, so people were already satisfied with the quality of this money.

Mourning rubles

After the death of the emperor in 1725, the coinsthe courts did not immediately switch to the minting of new coins, as was the custom. The obverse was changed only four months later, 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 a 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 the great power that it was for many years to come. And who knows, this greatness would have been possible without the new monetary system, which went down in history with its Peter's rubles.