Altyn
An altyn (Russian алты́н, also алты́нник, altynnik) is a historical Russian currency (symbol: 
). The name in Tatar is altın (алтын) meaning "gold",[1] and altı (алты) meaning "six", since it was worth six dengi, equivalent to three kopeck silver, then copper, a small value coin,[2][3] or 180–206 copper puls.[4]
History
[edit]From the 14th century, the altyn had been in use in several Russian principalities as a Eurasian currency between Russian and Asian traders.[5] Treaties between the principalities of Moscow, Ryazan and Tver show that the rate remained the same.[6] One altyn was equal to six dengi, while one ruble was equal to 200 (in Moscow) or 220 (in Pskov) dengi.[6] In the Sudebnik of 1497, one ruble was equal to 200 dengi, while one altyn was equal to six dengi.[7]
They were minted from 1654 under Alexis I, and under Peter I as silver coins from 1704 to 1718. Peter began minting silver ruble coins in 1704 and made the ruble the first decimal currency; the altyn was equal to three kopecks.[8][9] Later, they were revived under Nicholas I as copper coins with a value of three kopecks from 1839. While the name altyn eventually got lost, three-kopeck coins circulated in Russia until 1991.[10]
In the 2010s, the Eurasian Economic Commission drafted first proposals to revive the altyn by 2025 as a common currency of the Eurasian Economic Union. The international sanctions against Russia reportedly encouraged the bloc to expedite the process by 3–5 years but to no avail.[10] As of December 2025, the currency had still not been re-introduced in any capacity.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Этимологический словарь русского языка. — М.: Прогресс. М. Р. Фасмер. 1964—1973.
- ↑ Спасский, И. Г. Алтын в русской денежной системе. / В кн.: Краткие сообщения Института истории материальной культуры АН СССР, вып. 66. — 1956.
- ↑ Спасский, И. Г. Русская монетная система. — Л.: Аврора, 1970. — с. 105.
- ↑ Eric R. Schena, “The Influence of Islamic Coins on the Russian Monetary System: An Introduction”, As-Sikka: The Online Journal of The Islamic Coins Group, 1, no. 2 (1999-2000)[permanent dead link], August 2004
- ↑ Feldbrugge 2017, p. 1015.
- 1 2 Feldbrugge 2017, p. 461.
- ↑ Feldbrugge 2017, pp. 985, 1015.
- ↑ Snodgrass 2019, p. 239.
- ↑ Gouzévitch & Gouzévitch 2009, p. 358.
- 1 2 Sudakov, Dmitry (2014-04-10). "Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus to have new joint currency". Pravda.ru. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
Sources
[edit]- Feldbrugge, Ferdinand J. M. (2 October 2017). A History of Russian Law: From Ancient Times to the Council Code (Ulozhenie) of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1649. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-35214-8.
- Gouzévitch, Irina; Gouzévitch, Dmitri (2009). "Introducing mathematics, building an empire: Russia under Peter I". In Robson, Eleanor; Stedall, Jacqueline (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the History of Mathematics. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-921312-2.
- Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (25 July 2019). Coins and Currency: An Historical Encyclopedia, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3665-8.
- Uzdennikov V., Монеты России (1700—1917) [Coins of Russia (1700–1917)]: Издание третье. — М.: Collector’s Books; IP Media Inc., 2004.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Altyn sign at Wikimedia Commons
