Russian chervonets

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chervonets (or tchervonets, Russian: Черво́нец) were the former currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. In the diverse times, chervonets were equal to a different sum in Russian rubles. The name was derived from "червонное золото" which means pure gold.

Before the reign of Peter I chervonets were the name for varoius foreign gold coins circulated in Russia, mostly Dutch ducats and sequins. In 1701 the first gold coins, chervonets, were introduced with the same mass (3,47 g) and alloy (.986) as the dukat. Chervonets were minted until 1757 when they were displaced by the golden ruble (with a lower alloy) and counterfeits of the Netherlands dukat, which fully supplied a need in the trade of gold coins.

In 1922 the Soviet government introduced a new denomination with the name of chervonets to stop the hyperinflation and restrain chaos in the money standard during the civil war. During this time a lot of various denominations were circulated such as the imperial ruble, kerenki, sovznaki, etc. The golden coins were minted (8,6 g., .900 alloy) at a high rate on the foreign stock exchanges. Chervonets made the New Economic Policy possible and before industrialisation it's value was attached to 10 rubles, and the production of a golden coins was ceased.

In 1937, Lenin's portrait first appeared on the chervonet banknotes. Chervonets were suspended after the monetary reform in 1947.

A large portion of golden chervonets have been restruck before and after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow for souvenirs and trade operations.