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 Preobrazhenskoye 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 stated 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 written in both “dark” and “light” letters.

This money became the third and last type of banknotes that circulated in circulation 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”).

Why do some rulers become great and others not? You can’t help but come to the conclusion that money plays an important role in this.

In Russia, all the “Greats” who bore the imperial title - both Peter I the Great and Catherine II the Great - distinguished themselves in the monetary field. We have already discussed Peter the Great (see "").

Catherine the Great also stands out for her activities in the financial field.
By the time of Peter's death in January 1725, the income of the imperial treasury had risen to 7.4 million rubles per year.
In 1796, when Empress Catherine II the Great died, tax revenues to the treasury were already 46.2 million rubles per year, increasing more than six times. Almost 85% of this increase occurred during the three glorious decades of Catherine the Great's reign.

Catherine II the Great was empress from 1762 to 1796.

Unfair reproaches

Before talking about the empress’s merits, let’s first touch on two stereotypical “financial” reproaches against Catherine the Great.

Firstly , she is reproached for the fact that after her 34 years of reign she left her son and successor Paul I a large external public debt, of the order 41.4 million rubles in silver (Kropotov, 2016). First of all, we note that this amount is less than the state budget revenues for just one year, 1796.
But if we take into account that during the five years of his reign (by 1801) Paul brought the debt to 62.6 million rubles, and by the end of the reign of Alexander I (by 1825) the debt had already reached 107 million rubles, then this reproach seems even more unfair.

Second A common reproach against Catherine the Great is that the banknotes, the issue of which began under her, began to depreciate by the end of her reign. But this reproach is only partly fair.
If you look at the graph of the fall in the exchange rate of the “assignment ruble” against the “silver ruble”, we will see an interesting picture (graph 1)
Schedule 1. The fall in banknote prices under Catherine did not exceed 30% over 9 years (1788-1796). Before this, the exchange rate was stable for eighteen years (1769-1787).


Source: Kaufman, 1910

As can be seen from the diagram, for 18 years from the beginning of the issue of banknotes (1769-1787), the banknote ruble was quoted almost at the level of the silver ruble. And only in 1788 the price of the assignat ruble began to fall, which did not exceed 30% in 9 years.
Taking into account the fact that Catherine’s successors did not stabilize the banknote exchange rate, but devalued it even more (see chart), monetary policy under Catherine can be considered quite successful.
This policy looks especially successful if we compare the devaluation of banknotes under Catherine (in relation to the “world currency” of that time - silver) with the fall in the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar that occurred in 2014. Under Catherine, banknotes lost 30% of their value in 9 years, that is, they lost an average of 3.8% per year. In 2014, the ruble lost more than 50% of its value in a matter of months, if not days.

Monetary innovations of Catherine II

Reproaches against Catherine II the Great are unfair, especially if we evaluate them against the background of her achievements in the monetary sphere.
For example, her merit is that she established a firm ratio between silver and gold at the level accepted in Europe of 1 to 15. Previously, due to the fact that gold in Russia was valued lower than in Europe, it “floated” from Russia.

But the main achievement of Catherine II was, undoubtedly, the introduction of paper money in Russia - banknotes. It was thanks to the issue of banknotes that began in 1769 that the average annual issue of money in circulation increased to 12.8 million rubles per year, which is an order of magnitude higher than the same figure in the last years of the reign of Peter the Great.
Schedule 2. In the last decade and a half of Catherine's reign, the average annual issue of money in circulation exceeded 12 million rubles.


Sources: Yukht, 1994; Kaufman, 1910; calculations by Sergei Blinov.

It was the increase in the amount of money in circulation that contributed to the increase in taxes collected. Both the “money supply” and budget revenues increased sharply after the circulation of paper money - banknotes - was organized in Russia.

This project of Catherine the Great can without a doubt be called one of the most successful projects for the introduction of paper money circulation. This becomes especially obvious against the background of the failures of the introduction of paper money in France (“Lo system”), Sweden and a number of other countries.
If in France (1716-1720) paper money completely depreciated after four years, then in Russia under Catherine II for 18 years they were valued on an equal basis with specie, that is, with silver money, and then over the course of 9 years they lost in value. only 3.8% per year.

In many ways, the successes of the reign of the great empress, including victories in wars, expansion of territories (including the annexation of the Northern Black Sea region and Crimea), owe to this filling of the country with money and the tax revenues that grew as a result.

P.S. This is a continuation of the conversation on the topic of the greatness of rulers (see "

The first paper money appeared in China in the 8th century. Few details of their appeal survive, but it is known that they almost immediately sparked runaway inflation. Almost a thousand years later, in the first half of the 18th century, the Englishman John Law appeared in Europe with the idea of ​​​​introducing paper money, but his proposals to quickly enrich the treasury were rejected by the monarchs. After a long promotion of his plan, understanding was achieved with the regent of the young French king Louis XV. A bank was established that issued interest-bearing bonds in exchange for deposits in gold and silver coin. Law took part of the proceeds for himself, the rest went to the French treasury. At first, everything went well, until competitors began to spread rumors, because of which crowds of investors rushed to take their money. As a result, due to the low supply of coins, the bank collapsed. These were not exactly banknotes, rather a financial pyramid, but in many ways the similarities with the paper money of the future were visible.

Considering the huge interest in everything French, Russia simply could not help but know about all this. However, the idea of ​​quickly replenishing the state budget turned out to be stronger than any prejudices. The first project for introducing paper money was considered during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, but the Senate did not approve of the idea. Preparations for the issue of banknotes began when Peter III ascended the throne; drafts of notes in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles were even prepared. The palace coup, organized in 1762 by the emperor’s wife Catherine, put an end to all endeavors.

The next Russian-Turkish war that began in 1768 required large expenses. There was a catastrophic shortage of silver and gold in the treasury; there was even a shortage of copper coins, despite the discovery of large deposits of copper ore in the Urals and Siberia. On December 29, 1768 (old style), a manifesto was issued on the establishment of exchange banks for issuing banknotes. On February 2, the manifesto was published. Initially, two banks were created in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and in 1772-1778 an additional 22 exchange offices were opened in other cities.

It was planned to issue tickets worth 2.5 million rubles and provide them with 2 million in coins. Capital banks received 50 thousand rubles each for expenses (paper production, printing, organizing exchange). To bolster the interest of the population, 5% of banknotes were accepted as payment of taxes and fees, the rest in coin. Unlike John Law's notes, no interest was paid for holding money in banknotes. In this way they were similar to bills of exchange, known long before, but unlike them they could act as a means of payment.

The first banknotes were in denominations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles, made in a uniform style with single-sided printing. Very few copies have survived to this day, and the paint on them has faded and parts of the design are difficult to see. Each banknote has a frame, in the upper part of which there are two ovals with drawings (on the left - a port, an eagle, banners, cannons, cannonballs; on the right - a rock above the sea), at the bottom there is an inscription about the bank’s exchange of the banknote for a coin and numerous signatures of the bank’s managers. The denomination is indicated in words only. On the money of the Moscow Bank it is indicated “Moscow Bank”, on the money of St. Petersburg - “St. Petersburg Bank”. The banknotes were marked with the date of issue, and not the date of the sample, as now. The watermarks were made in the form of inscriptions: “love for the fatherland”, “acts for the benefit of it”, “state treasury”. That is, with all its appearance, paper money reminded of the patriotic duty of the citizens of the empire.

(from the exhibition of the Goznak Museum)

If we take into account that the average wage of a worker was 15-20 rubles per month, and the peasants mainly lived off their own farms, it becomes clear that only the wealthy segments of society could afford banknotes. Due to their high value, counterfeiters immediately began to work on them. The most common counterfeit was changing the word “twenty” on a 20-ruble note to “seventy”, which turned it into a 75-ruble note. It was necessary to cancel the issue of 75-ruble notes in 1771 and stop accepting them in all payments.

The main purpose of issuing banknotes, which was communicated to the public, was to simplify the circulation of copper coins, which then occupied the bulk of all coins. The manifesto contains the following words: “the burden of the copper coin, which approves its own price, burdens its circulation.” By exchanging copper (or other) money for paper, it was possible to easily transport large sums and also store them. At first, the free exchange for coins and back aroused great confidence among the population in paper money, but the government could not resist the temptation to repeatedly continue circulation, providing them less and less.

The fall of the paper ruble and new issues

In 1786, the exchange rate of the paper ruble had already dropped by 1-2 kopecks against the coin, this caused concern to the government. It is not surprising, because by this time there were already not 2, but 46 million rubles in banknotes in circulation! Of course, there weren’t enough coins to exchange, so payments were often delayed. Count I.I. Shuvalov proposed the following plan: issue an additional 54 million rubles in banknotes and begin issuing secured loans with them. At the same time, the amounts intended for issuance were clearly divided. Borrowers had to repay the entire amount, including interest, within a specified period.

The Moscow Bank was abolished, the issue was now carried out only by the St. Petersburg Bank (analogous to the modern State Bank). To emphasize the importance of the actions being taken, all old banknotes were confiscated and new ones were issued, with additional denominations - 5 and 10 rubles on blue and red paper (hence the names of the “blue” and “red” banknotes). The colors of the 5- and 10-ruble bills were maintained with short interruptions until 1992.

The government assured that the volume of banknotes had reached its limit and would not be increased under any circumstances. The bank, in addition to issuing money, had to perform some other functions to replenish the state treasury. The treasury received part of the banknotes for its own needs at a small percentage, and part on a gratuitous basis. For this, the bank had the right to independently issue issues at its own discretion and gained some independence from the state.

By the end of the reign of Catherine II, due to constant wars, active development of the capital, and enrichment of palaces, the issue of banknotes reached 150 million rubles, and their security was only 20%. The situation was further aggravated by the restriction on issuing coins to one person. The paper ruble was now unofficially given only 68 kopecks.

Paul I sought to rectify the situation, for this purpose the official exchange rate was announced - 70 kopecks, then 60 kopecks. But these innovations did not bring any significant results. The emission continued in uncontrolled volumes, and the exchange rate fell and reached 25 kopecks by the end of the first decade of the 19th century. Unissued banknotes of a new type of 1802-1803 are known; apparently, it was planned to improve the economy by replacing money.

Another attempt to rectify the situation was the manifesto of Alexander I in 1810, which announced the stop of issue (except for the replacement of old banknotes) and the mandatory redemption of banknotes in circulation. For this purpose, a loan of 100 million rubles in banknotes was organized, the received paper money was publicly burned in front of the bank building to show the decrease in the amount of money and increase the confidence of the population. In the same manifesto, the silver ruble was officially recognized as the basis of monetary circulation, and copper and small silver coins became exchangeable coins. Additionally, the rate of banknotes for government fees increased, and new transactions had to be conducted only in paper money.

Napoleonic forgeries

The paper ruble, strengthening as a result of all measures, faced a new test, which it was no longer able to withstand. The Napoleonic army that invaded Russia in 1812 brought not only destruction, but also counterfeit money. They were prepared by a private organization commissioned by Napoleon himself. The experience of undermining the economy of a state by introducing a large number of fakes has already been mastered in Europe; moreover, this made it possible to supply the army with food on foreign territory.

Bags of counterfeit banknotes (only 25 and 50 rubles are known) were carried along with all the equipment, and along the way they were used for payments in the villages. The peasants were not willing to accept money from the French, but in general they did not refuse, since purchases were made at high prices. No one could have imagined that the great emperor would condescend to issue counterfeit money. But soon the shortcomings of the banknotes began to emerge, which were clearly visible among certain dates. Firstly, the corners were cut much smoother than the real thing, and some copies even had grammatical errors.

Now collectors know of four types of counterfeit banknotes: with the word “hot coin” instead of “hot coin”; with the word “state” instead of “state”; with two errors; and also without errors. The latter differs only in the technology of cutting corners.

Latest attempts to restore the hardness of the paper ruble

The mass production of counterfeits greatly undermined the already shaky trust in paper money; the exchange rate reached 20 kopecks. By 1817, there were already 836 million rubles in banknotes in circulation. Starting this year, several more government loans in banknotes are being organized. Some loans are interest-bearing, and some are accepted immediately with a premium to the amount. This all reduced the money supply, but the exchange rate rose only by 5 kopecks.

(from the exhibition of the Goznak Museum)

To get rid of counterfeits, in 1819 another exchange of all banknotes was made for new ones, and the old ones were declared invalid and not accepted for payments. The new money began to have a more complex design, but remained one-sided. An additional 200 ruble banknote has been introduced. It was planned to issue a denomination of 20 rubles, but it remained in a trial version.

(from the exhibition of the Goznak Museum)

Minister of Finance E.F. Kankrin in 1839 abolished the exchange of paper money for coins. The issuance of interest on deposits is carried out only in banknotes, which now have a strict rate of 30 kopecks in silver, and the issuance of coins to one hand is limited to 100 rubles. For this purpose, special copper coins were issued with the designation “silver kopecks” and were large in size. Acceptance of banknotes for government payments is stopped.

Credit tickets

Reform E.F. Kankrina. Silver standard

Various ideas have been put forward to improve the economy. Emperor Nicholas I proposed introducing tickets on which investors could make a profit as a percentage, but this was already carried out in the second decade of the 19th century and led to negative consequences. Instead of an increase in silver in the treasury, the national debt increased. Therefore, the reform organized by E.F. Kankrin in 1839-1843 meant the introduction of new paper money, not government loans. Loans at interest were handled by savings banks established in 1842 (the predecessors of the modern Sberbank).

The first stage of the reform was the formation of an exchange fund in silver coins. For this purpose, they organized a depository office and, from January 1, 1840, issued deposit tickets in denominations from 3 to 25 rubles, which were replenished a year later with 1, 50 and 100 rubles. Deposits were accepted in silver and gold coins and were completely freely issued to depositors without limiting the amount. There were so many people willing to invest money that there were queues at the exchange offices. In the first year, we managed to collect 24 million rubles in coins.

Deposit notes were completely identical to the first banknotes, but were supported by stable reserves of coins in the treasury. The basis of monetary circulation for 20 years has been the silver ruble, and in order to also use copper, large-sized copper coins are issued with the designation “silver kopecks.” In this way, the government managed to completely equate all three types of coins - gold, silver and copper, but payments were still carried out in silver.

(from the exhibition of the Goznak Museum)

The summer of 1841 brought the country little harvest, it was necessary to start purchasing abroad, so the untouchable exchange fund began to gradually melt. At the end of the year, a Loan Bank was organized, which issued credit notes with a face value of 50 rubles, partially backed by silver. Tickets were issued mainly against real estate, but there was also a direct exchange for silver.

On June 1, 1843, the last stage of the reform was carried out: all existing paper money was exchanged for new credit notes of the 1843 model in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 rubles. The exchange was made 1:1 for deposit notes and Loan Bank notes, and for banknotes at the rate of 3 rubles 50 kopecks per new ruble. Credit notes were required to be backed by at least 1/3 of silver and gold coins. Since 1860, the creation of the State Bank, which replaced the Commercial Bank, took over the issue of bank notes.

Simple exchange without any restrictions contributed to increasing the population's confidence in credit notes; they circulated freely and were willingly accepted in all payments. The exchange fund was sufficient in reserve, and the surplus went to state needs. Due to the economic crisis in other European countries, many foreigners came to Russia to exchange their savings for hard credit notes.

In their artistic design, the credit notes were similar to the banknotes of the latest issues: a figured frame indicating the denomination, inside which there is information about the mandatory size for a gold or silver coin, and the signatures of officials. On the back, against the background of the state emblem, were excerpts from the Supreme Manifesto on credit notes.

Credit notes in the second half of the 19th century

For 10 years, credit notes remained a hard form of money, and due to their convenient use, they were in great demand among the population. But, like any paper money, sooner or later they would depreciate. The reason was uncontrolled emissions to cover government expenses during the Crimean War. By 1858, a paper ruble was already worth 80 kopecks. This further provoked queues at the change desks, and consequently reduced confidence in credit tickets.

(from the exhibition of the Goznak Museum)

Previously, silver and gold were accumulated by the population, and to normalize money circulation, all that remained was to find a way to extract it (for example, through loans). Now precious metals were going abroad, the population was buying up more stable English pounds. The shortage of silver coins was partially eliminated by reducing the weight, and then the standard of 5, 10, 15 and 20 kopecks in silver. The coins became smaller and contained only less than half the precious metal. The issuance of coins per person was also limited - no more than three rubles, the rest had to be issued in credit notes.

Improvements in the financial system that emerged in the 1860s made it possible to raise the exchange rate of the paper ruble, but the next Russian-Turkish War again forced the resort to mass printing of banknotes, which quickly reduced their value to an average of 66 kopecks.

In 1881, with the coming to power of Alexander III, previously printed credit notes with a face value of 25 rubles, modeled on one-sided English pounds, came into circulation. The population's trust in pounds should have transferred to these tickets, but the experiment did not show significant results. Trying to fight the huge supply of paper money accumulated among the population, the emperor signs a decree to stop issuing banknotes, of which there were already more than a billion rubles. The decree envisaged an annual reduction of paper money by 50 million, but over 10 years it was possible to confiscate approximately only 150 million rubles worth of tickets.

The appearance of the banknotes did not remain unchanged. In 1866, banknotes of a new type of the same denominations appeared, but portraits of Russian rulers appeared on large ones for the first time in history. On 5 rubles - Dmitry Donskoy, on 10 - Mikhail Fedorovich, on 25 - Alexey Mikhailovich, on 50 - Peter I, and on 100 rubles - Catherine II. It is unknown why the artist chose them, and on what basis the portraits were selected for each denomination. Already at the end of the 1880s, new tickets were issued in denominations from 1 to 25 rubles, without portraits, and 50 rubles were no longer printed. The 100 rubles that lasted the longest were issued unchanged until 1896; they had a rainbow background, which was then the pinnacle of printing art. The portrait of Catherine II on the 100-ruble banknote will survive the subsequent reform (with a change in the design of the banknote), will last until the Revolution, and will be called “Katenka”.

Tickets of the same design could be issued under different rulers, with only the emperor's monogram changing. For example, 100 rubles were with the monogram of Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II. Until 1898, money was marked with the date of issue, after which they began to indicate the date of the sample. In the 1890s, pre-reform tickets in denominations of 5, 10 and 25 rubles were updated for the last time; they received complex, highly artistic design in the spirit of imperial times.

Reform S.Yu. Witte. gold standard

At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II, the Minister of Finance was a competent politician and economist Sergei Yulievich Witte. Back in 1895, he proposed transferring the Russian monetary system to the gold standard, that is, each ruble would be expressed in a certain amount of gold, and silver and copper coins would become small change. Due to the clear link to gold, the depreciation of money theoretically became impossible.

It was necessary to gently, without unnecessary shocks, equate the new ruble to 1.5 old (at the established exchange rate). And there were plenty of shocks at that time: growing distrust in government, strikes and revolutionary movements, terrorism.

The largest gold coin with a face value of 10 rubles was then unofficially called the imperial. New coins of the same weight were developed, denominated not only in rubles, but also in imperials: “IMPERIAL. 10 RUBLES GOLD”, there was also a semi-imperial. At the same time, attempts were made to call the largest coin “Rus” or “Rus”. All this did not go beyond trial copies. Instead of new money, they decided to simply exchange the old 10 rubles for the new 15; for this purpose, in 1897, coins with a face value of 15 and 7.5 rubles were issued in mass circulation, weighing 10 and 5 old rubles, respectively. And the new 10 rubles reduced the weight by one and a half times, and they were equated to 10 new “golden” paper rubles.

But in order to introduce a new type of credit notes, a significant exchange fund in gold coin was needed. Until this time, little attention was paid to gold; it was not in great demand. To create a reserve fund, 20 years before the reform, decrees began to be issued on the preferential acceptance of gold coins in government payments and as duties, as well as foreign currency in gold terms. Additionally, deposits are being introduced that are accepted in gold in exchange for deposit receipts.

Since 1895, many government levies began to be expressed in gold and were calculated daily at the metal reception rate. The silver ruble began to be equal to 17.424 shares of pure gold, that is, 0.774 grams. This was exactly 2/3 of the weight of the old-style gold ruble. Old type paper money is accepted at the rate of 15:10. That is, the population gradually mastered payments in gold bars, the paper form of which was to become credit notes.

New credit notes were issued into circulation in 1898. The denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 25 rubles remained the same design, but instead of indicating the obligatory exchange for a silver coin, an inscription appeared on them indicating the exchange of each ruble for 17.424 shares of pure gold, or 1/15 of an imperial. The name “imperial” is transferred to the 15-ruble coin. Brand new banknotes of 50, 100 and 500 rubles appear with portraits of Nicholas I, Catherine II and Peter I, respectively. Old gold coins were not withdrawn and were equal to 1.5 new ones. Silver and copper coins did not change in appearance or weight, but became a secondary means of payment. The issue of banknotes was limited to at least 50% backing in gold coin, and the issue of over 600 million had to be fully backed by gold.

Among influential circles there were many opponents of the reform, who believed that Russia was not ready for the transition to the gold standard, unlike more developed countries. The prosperous existence of a monetary system of this type was possible only if there was a large gold reserve, and in the event of the slightest shock it would go abroad. And so it happened, the strong ruble lasted only 16 years.

Money circulation at the beginning of the 20th century

Russia entered the new century with stable paper money backed by large gold reserves. Even the Russo-Japanese War had only a minor impact on emissions. Instead of issuing all banknotes, the government focused on printing low-denomination notes. At the same time, 3 rubles of a new type appeared, which were printed in the first months of Soviet times.

Under Nicholas II, many reforms were aimed at the flourishing of autocracy, despite the growth in the number of revolutionary movements. The changes did not spare money either. In 1909-1912, new banknotes from 5 to 500 rubles were issued, made with excesses of artistic design in the Baroque spirit. On them, in richly decorated figured frames, there were portraits of Russian emperors, there were images of complex architectural elements, a multi-color background, and microtext. Of particular note is the 500 ruble sample of 1912 with a portrait of Peter I and a full-length female figure, symbolizing Russia. Only 50 rubles, a ruble and 3 rubles were left unchanged.

Money circulation had reached unprecedented heights, and it seemed that nothing was in danger. To confirm this, it is worth citing a few numbers. At the beginning of 1914, there were about 2.5 billion rubles in circulation in banknotes and coins of all types. Of these, 1664 million rubles were in credit notes, 494.2 million in gold coins, 226 million in silver and 18 million in copper coins. At the same time, the gold reserves of the State Bank covered credit notes by 31 million rubles. That is, according to the 1898 manifesto, it was allowed to issue more than 300 million rubles in paper money without increasing the exchange fund.

After Russia entered the First World War in 1914, uncontrolled emissions began. In just three years, the number of credit notes grew to 10 billion rubles, and the exchange rate of the paper ruble again began to fluctuate. At the beginning of 1917, only 25 kopecks were given for it, and in Europe it was quoted at the rate of 0.56 to a gold coin. Silver and gold began to disappear from the population, and coin production ceased.

In 1915, instead of silver coins, stamp money appeared in denominations of 10, 15 and 20 kopecks, modeled after postage stamps for the 300th anniversary of the Romanovs. They were produced in sheets of 100 pieces with perforations for tearing. On the front side there were portraits of the emperors, on the reverse side the coat of arms and denomination were depicted in numbers and words. At the same time, the copper coin is gradually being replaced by banknotes in denominations of 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopecks, and a 50-kopeck bill also appears. 10, 15 and 20 kopecks of this type did not come into circulation and are now considered rare. Next year, stamp money will be issued in denominations of 1, 2 and 3 kopecks. The minting of copper coins stopped completely in 1917, and silver coins in 1916. Gold coins have not been issued since 1911.

Money of the Provisional Government

After the February Revolution, representatives of the former State Duma and other political figures came to power and formed the Provisional Government. To begin the reforms that opponents of the tsarist government were waiting for, it was necessary to increase the issue of paper money. In 8 months, 9.5 billion rubles were printed in credit tickets.

Banknotes have been issued unchanged for many years, the only differences being in the signatures of the manager and cashier, as well as in the number series. By comparing all these parameters, collectors can determine the exact year of printing, since all are marked only with the date of the sample. For example, a ruble with the date “1898” was signed by the manager Pleske, who was at the helm of the State Bank until 1903, then Timashev took his place, and in 1910 Konshin. Among the rubles with the signature “I. Shipov" there are four main types: 1914-1916, 6 digits in the number; 1916, 3 digits in the number; Provisional Government Issue and Soviet Government Issue. There were also local issues of the Arkhangelsk province with perforation “GBSO”; they exist with different numbers and signatures. A novice collector picks up a banknote with the date “1898” and does not even suspect that it was issued under Soviet rule, although the majority of such banknotes exist.

In addition to the tsarist-style banknotes, in the summer of 1917, the production of completely new 1000 ruble banknotes with the coat of arms of the Provisional Government began: a double-headed eagle without crowns (similar to the modern emblem of the Central Bank). On the front side of this money there was an image of the State Duma building, for which they were nicknamed “Dumka” or “Duma money”. In the fall, by decree of the Prime Minister Kerensky, small cards with denominations of 20 and 40 rubles were issued in uncut sheets of 40 pieces; they immediately received the nickname “Kerenki”. Also in September, the issue of 250 ruble banknotes began. Some are horrified to discover a swastika on banknotes of the Provisional Government, which is not noticeable upon a quick inspection. In fact, this symbol had not yet been taken by the Nazis and meant peaceful existence, but it appeared long before that in India.

Under the Provisional Government, money-stamps in denominations of 1, 2 and 3 kopecks continued to be issued instead of small change coins. They were distinguished by the presence of a black overprint in the form of a denomination number on the front side. Under Soviet rule, at first these denominations were also printed, but on the reverse side, instead of the coat of arms, the denomination was repeated in black paint.

1. Gusakov A.D. "Monetary circulation in pre-revolutionary Russia." – M., 1954.

2. Gusakov A.D. "Essays on the monetary circulation of Russia." – M.: Gosfinizdat, 1946.

3. Shchelokov A.A. "Paper money. Historical facts, legends, discoveries."

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Due to economic necessity, Russia began issuing paper notes in 1768. At the same time, a manifesto was signed on the creation of branches of the Assignation Bank in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The problem of money was the most important in the Russian Empire of the 18th century. Under the reign of Peter Alekseevich, a large-scale monetary reform was carried out to move to a new level of coinage and bring the currency closer to the standards of other European currencies in terms of the content of valuable metals in it. New types of them were introduced, made of copper, silver and gold.

The coinage had large volumes; over time, the weight norm in money began to decrease, which is why their value decreased, and goods, on the contrary, became more expensive. In connection with these trends negatively affecting the economy, the development of reforms began with the help of which it would be possible to regulate the circulation of monetary units.

Reasons for currency reform

They began to think about the introduction of paper banknotes into circulation during the reign of Elizabeth, since the greatly increasing government expenses created a situation where there was simply not enough silver and gold, which is why the entire internal trade turnover was based on copper. Copper kopecks and half coins were completely unsuitable for transactions, which created a sad situation for Russia, which was expanding its trade ties. The solution was found only in the second half of the 18th century, when the first banknotes of Catherine II were issued.

Note from the author. To appreciate the scale of the glut of copper in the country's domestic economy, it is worth looking at an example of a typical administrative problem of the period. To collect taxes, collectors had to take with them at least several carts on which they transported mountains of copper.

Carrying out reform and the appearance of money

The first step towards updating the monetary system and the emergence of banknotes, which, by the way, were already introduced in many European countries at that time, was taken by Peter III, who began the construction of the State Bank. Perhaps the reform would have been carried out under him, but because of the coup d'etat, Catherine took the initiative into her own hands.

The task before the Empress was not easy; the level of technical development of the printing house did not allow it according to the European model, which is why they did not dare to introduce them, but it was no longer possible to delay.

The date December 29, 1768 went down in history as the day the first banknotes appeared in the Russian Empire. Then a manifesto was signed on the creation of branches of the Assignation Bank in Moscow and St. Petersburg, each of which was allocated a budget of 500 thousand coins.

At first they issued denominations: 25, 50, 70, 75 and 100 rubles. Initially they were tied to coins, any paper had to be exchanged for metal money at the bank, and according to the order of 1770 - only copper coins.

True, the money was not made from the best quality paper, which is why fakes and fakes quickly began to appear, which were indistinguishable from the original. They tried to stop this by ordering the death penalty and removing from circulation papers with a face value of 75 rubles, which were most often counterfeited, but this did not help much.

Evaluation and consequences of the reform

At the beginning of the 1780s, a new type of paper was introduced into circulation, better protected from counterfeiting, but this did not improve the economic situation. Restrictions on the issue of these securities were quickly violated. By the end of 457, the number of banknotes already exceeded 157 million rubles, while the state limit was one hundred million, the currency had greatly depreciated. This was due to the wars during the reign of the Empress, during which money was printed at a frantic pace to pay off all military expenses.

In the second half of the 1780s, a sharp decline in the value of banknotes began, and at the same time a drop in the price of the copper exchange equivalent. The government removed 6 million paper notes from circulation, but the continued growth of military spending reduced the value of assignation rubles from one hundred to 20 kopecks.

The lack of experience in working with the new type of money, as well as its uncontrolled release, made the exchange rate extremely unstable, and the government was losing the fight against the newly emerged counterfeiting. Alexander the First even had to ban the printing of paper currency in order to at least take control of the situation, but Russia will only be able to solve the problem of new resources after the Napoleonic Wars.

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 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 guardhouse.

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