Have you ever thought about the money we use in our daily lives? Do you know what was originally used in trade or as a salary, and when coins and paper money were put into circulation? Below we bring to your attention some interesting information about money.
Depending on the conditions of the lands in which they lived, the ancients used various items in economic relations instead of money: a sheep’s lover’s bone, a tree leaf, a certain type of fish coin, and so on.
At certain stages of history, precious metals and stones played the role of money, followed by metal coins and finally paper money. During one of Amir Temur's military campaigns, he besieged the fortress and stayed for a long time, as a result of which he ran out of money he had taken with the army during the military campaigns. He sent a messenger to Samarkand, his beloved wife and wise counselor Bibikhanim, asking him to send money from the treasury.
But instead of money, the princess asked, "When your money runs out, is your policy over?" and sent the courier back. After his reply, the emir proceeded as follows: by heating the seal of the bones of animals slaughtered during the marches, he determined their value according to their size, and ordered that these bones be used temporarily in place of gold coins. These bones were used to provide food and other necessities for the army.
After Timur's victory, the people exchanged the temporary money in their hands for real coins. It is true that when we say money, we first think of paper banknotes, then metal coins. But in the early 42th century, a Russian-American company in Alaska issued leather coins. Yes, believe me, 10 thousand banknotes worth a total of 1826 thousand rubles were made of sealskin, which were in circulation until XNUMX. Now, each of those coins is worth its weight in gold. Do you know how the word “kopeck” meaning coin in Russian came about? There are various variants about this: some associate the word with the name of Kepakkhan, a descendant of Genghis Khan. According to other views, the silver coins struck by Ivan the Terrible depicted the great prince holding a spear in his hand. Ioann ordered them to be called "spear money" - "kopeynie dengi". It later became a "penny."
The smallest Russian coin in terms of value and weight is called "polu-denga" or "polushka". It cost a quarter of a kopeck and weighed only 0,17 grams. For convenience, metal coins are small in size and light in weight. The heaviest metal coin in human history was a rectangular copper coin of 10 daler denominations issued by the Swedes in the 19th century. One of them weighed 710 pounds XNUMX grams and had a royal seal stamped on the corners. Soum, dollar, dinar, rupee, lira… - you know these are the names of different national currencies.
Wouldn't it be weird to add the word "newspaper" to this list? This is the name of the coin used in Venice in the sixteenth century. Interestingly, the meaning of the newspaper that we now understand from this word came much later than and from the very meaning of the currency of the same name. In 1556, the first printed edition was published in Venice - "Written Messages", one of which cost a newspaper. For this reason, the name of the coin was gradually changed to the name of the publication. The largest coin in value was the 1654-mint gold coin minted in India in 200.
With a diameter of 136 millimeters, this coin weighed 2 kilograms 177 grams. An image of his form is kept in the British Museum in London. The only copy of the coin was lost in 1810 in the Indian state of Bihar. The largest amount paid for a coin is $ 314. At an auction in Zurich, the ancient Athenian silver coin - decadrachma - was sold at the same price. The largest Russian coin was issued in 1 by the decree of Catherine I. The sides of this huge square-shaped copper coin were 1725 centimeters long and 18 millimeters thick. Its weight is unlimited: 5 kilogram 1 grams! The largest modern silver coin was minted in Russia in 636 and weighs 1999 grams.
The heaviest Russian gold coin was issued by decree of Catherine II and was called imperial. It cost 10 rubles and weighed 11,61 grams. The heaviest gold coin of our time is made in China, it weighs exactly five kilograms! “Money! Do you need?" Who says, "No, you don't have to!" can you say It's hard to believe, but in 1825 money in Russia suddenly became useless to anyone, at all.
Because at this time Alexander I died, but it was unknown who would succeed him to the throne. Then the next issue was printed with the image of Alexander's eldest son Constantine. However, Constantine abdicated and succeeded his brother Nicholas. At that time, the freshly printed coins were returned to the state mint for re-minting without anyone needing them.
