Therefore, the ancient hryvnia kun (counting) and the hryvnia of silver (weight) on the territory of the Old Russian state became a means of payment, the very first money in Rus' was formed -.
At first, the weight of one and the other hryvnia was the same. However, due to the unstable weight of various foreign coins and the change in the status of the hryvnia itself as a unit of weight, the silver hryvnia began to include several hryvnia kunas.
So, for example, a silver hryvnia (weight 204 grams) in the 12th century was equal in value to four hryvnia-kun (weight 51 grams). In turn, the hryvnia-kun consisted of a certain number of smaller coins (units of account). In the 11th century, the hryvnia-kun consisted of 20 nogat=25 kun=50 rezan, and in the 12th century the hryvnia-kun was equal to 20 nogat or 50 kun. Within one century, the value of the kuna was halved.
When in Rus' they had not yet learned how to make the very first coins “zlatnik” and “sererenik”, and the supply of coins from other foreign countries stopped. Then the ancient hryvnias were formed, which became the main form of monetary circulation on the territory of Rus'. These were irredeemable silver bars (the ancient hryvnia of Rus'). Now they are confidently called the very first money - the ancient hryvnia of Rus'. In the history of Russian monetary circulation, this period began to be called coinless. This period lasted from the 12th to the 14th centuries. 
Starting from the 11th century, “Kievan ancient hryvnias” were in circulation on the territory of Kievan Rus, having a hexagonal shape and weighing 163-164 grams. Before the Mongol-Tatar invasion, such hryvnias served as a means of payment and a means of accumulation. However, the “Novgorod ancient hryvnia of Rus'” had an even more important place in the monetary circulation of Rus'. It was they, as the very first money, that began to circulate first in the north-west of Rus', and then until the middle of the 13th century they spread throughout its entire territory of Kievan Rus.
In shape they were long silver sticks weighing about 240 grams. As a transitional option between the Novgorod and Kyiv hryvnias, there was . She was like the weight, and the shape was like the Kiev one.
Tatar hryvnias are also known, which were often found in the Volga region along with Tatar coins clinked in the 14th century. They were shaped like a boat. Another variety of these ancient silver bars is very interesting and unusual -.
The relationship between the ruble and the hryvnia is interpreted differently in different sources. In the book “The Hoary Antiquity of Moscow,” which was published in 1893, I.K. Kondratiev explains that rubles were pieces of silver with notches that indicated their weight or parts of a hryvnia. Each hryvnia consisted of four parts. The silver hryvnia had the shape of a rod, which was chopped into 4 parts, and the name ruble most likely comes from the meaning “to chop.”
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia explained that ancient hryvnias were cut in half and each part was called a ruble. There is also a version that a silver bar called “ruble” weighed the same as a silver bar called “hryvnia”. However, the ruble, unlike the ancient hryvnia, was made using different technologies and had a seam on the edge.
When studying the very first money, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of words. In Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish, the word “rub” meant a tripe, and in Serbian it meant a border or seam. Therefore, the word ruble can be interpreted as “an ingot with a seam.” 
With the onset of the 15th century, the ancient hryvnia bullion as units of payment ceased to satisfy the commodity-money system, as the minting of coins increased. From that time on, the ruble became firmly established as the concept of a monetary unit of account, and over time it became the main unit of the established Russian monetary system. The ancient hryvnia of Rus' was losing its relevance.
The hryvnia continued to exist as a unit of weight; its weight was equal to 204.75 grams, until it was replaced by a pound in the 18th century (the hryvnia was equal to half a pound). As a unit of weight, the hryvnia was divided into 48 spools (the mass of each spool is 4.26 grams), the spool was divided into 25 kidneys (the mass of the kidney is 0.17 grams). The weight of 204 grams became the standard for minting Russian coins.
In various historical eras, the term “hryvnia” was used to describe coins made of copper of various denominations and silver.
And today we can say with confidence that the ancient hryvnia, or as they are also called the ancient hryvnia of Rus', are the most
Miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle. Posadniks of Oleg Svyatoslavich collect tribute from the Suzdal land.
REFERENCE
Hryvnia- an ancient Russian monetary and weight unit, the name of which is believed to have come from the metal neck decoration “hryvnia”. It was the main monetary unit of Ancient Rus'; all the others (nogata, kuna, rezana, veksha) represent its factions. Modern researchers define the fractions of the hryvnia, kuna and nogata as units of the monetary system, originally based on Arab silver.
According to calculations by V.L. Ioannina, until the 10th century. in Rus' 1 hryvnia (hryvnia kun) was equal to 25 kunas, i.e. common coins of Arab mintage, which had an average weight (2.73 g). That is, the original hryvnia was supposedly equal in weight to 68.25 g.
At the beginning of the 10th century, when the weight of the dirham became loose, the coin was sorted according to two Russian monetary weight standards. In addition to the old norm of the kuna, for the first time a new norm appears - nogata (3.41 g), already equal to 1/20 of the hryvnia. This system in the 11th century is recorded in the Brief Edition of Russian Pravda: 1 hryvnia = 20 nogat = 25 kuna = 50 rezan (coins cut in half).
In the 12th century further changes took place. In the Russian Pravda Extensive edition we see the hryvnia kun equal to 20 nogat and 50 kun. Ryazan merges with the kuna, and the weight value of the kuna hryvnia becomes unequal in the south and in the north. In the south, in the 11th-13th centuries, silver ingots weighing about 160 g are known in finds. In the north, in Novgorod and Smolensk, the monetary system adapts to the Western European one. As a result, a new hryvnia, or “hryvnia of silver,” weighing half a pound (204 g) appears; this hryvnia is contrasted with the old “hryvnia kun,” the weight of which is reduced to 51 g and becomes equal to 1/4 of the new “hryvnia of silver.”
This is, in brief, the traditional idea of the development of the ancient Russian monetary and weight system. If anyone has any objections or comments, I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read.
1. HRYVNA KUN
The hryvnia, as mentioned above, was divided into parts - kunas. The name "kuna" comes from the fur of the marten. In Ancient Rus', kunas, before the advent of coins, played the role of fur money; goods were exchanged for them, and tribute was taken from conquered tribes according to the “black kuna from smoke.” As we see in the miniature, marten furs were collected in bundles, put on a hoop, that is, a hryvnia. I believe that this bunch of furs on a hoop is the “hryvnia kun”.
But what about the kun-dirhams that scientists talk about? Below we will see that they are wrong.
2. BYZANTINE LITER OF RUSSIAN LAW
In the agreement of 911 with the Greeks, preserved in our chronicle, there are references to the Russian Law, that is, to the norms of customary law, subsequently written down in the first ancient Russian law, Russian Pravda. As punishment for a blow with a sword or vessel, according to Russian law, the offender had to pay a fine, which, according to the agreement with the Greeks, was equal to 5 Byzantine liters of silver. In Russian Pravda, the same offense is assessed according to Russian standards at 12 hryvnia. Knowing that the Byzantine liter was equal to 327.45 g, we find that 1 hryvnia kun at the beginning of the 10th century was equal to 136.4 g of silver, and not 68.25 g, as scientists think following V.L. Yanin.
How many coins were there in this hryvnia? Using the theoretical norm of 2.73 g for coins of the 9th century (for the monetary system reflected in the treaty of 911 should have been formed somewhat earlier), we divide 136.4 g by the weight of the dirham of 2.73 g. Which is equal to approximately 49 , 96..., that is, 50 dirhams, and not 25, as V.L. Yanin believed. This means that the kuna and nogata, of which there were 25 and 20 in the hryvnia of the kun of Russian Pravda, were not coins and did not cost as much in silver as the dirham weighed.
The Arab writer Ibn Ruste, who wrote at the beginning of the 10th century, tells us that marten fur could be purchased from Russian merchants for 2.5 dirhams.
Ibn Ruste (beginning of the 10th century):
“Their main wealth is marten fur; hard cash is replaced by marten fur. Each fur is equal to two dirhams and a half."Accordingly, in the hryvnia of the kun of the late 9th - early 10th centuries, could there be 20 kunas?
Well, quite as expected, in Rus' they liked to count furs as magpies (here they are exactly half forty). However, this still needs to be proven.
3. HRYVNA KUN OF BRIEF RUSSIAN TRUTH
It is not known for certain how the monetary system developed during the 10th century, but by the 11th century. it was recorded in the Brief Russian Pravda as a system in which the hryvnia already had three factions - kuna, nogata and rezana. It contains 1 hryvnia = 20 nogat = 25 kunas = 50 rez.
Changes in this system during the 10th century were determined by two main phenomena. The first is the development from the turn of the 9th-10th centuries of the trade movement along the route from the Varangians to the Greeks, and, accordingly, the adaptation of the monetary system to Byzantine trade and Byzantine monetary and weight measures (in the Russian Law we do not yet see a convenient combination of hryvnia and liter). The second is an increase in the weight of the Arab coin to 3.1-3.4 g.
Arabic coins, known to us from treasures, differ quite greatly in weight. Statistical calculations allow you to establish the average estimated weight of a coin. In our case, the weight of the coin can be clarified by a weight with the inscription “GLEB” and the number “7”, found at the beginning of the 19th century in Kyiv by General Engineer von Suchtelen and published in 1807 by Professor F.I. All around. The weight weighed 22.89 g. 1/7 fraction of this weight gives 3.27 g, which is close to the average weight of a full-weight dirham of the 10th century. The weight of the weight most likely indicates the practical weight at which coin silver was accepted - this is 3.27 g per dirham. It corresponds exactly to 1/100 of a Byzantine liter, which was convenient for recalculating prices for imported Byzantine goods. We will use this coin weight in further calculations.
We remember that in the 9th century the hryvnia was equal in weight to 50 dirhams weighing 2.73 g. We can assume that the amount of silver in monetary terms in the hryvnia did not change and remained equal to 50. Let's check this hypothesis. Fifty coins of this weight of 3.27 g will weigh 163.5 g. That is, half a Byzantine liter. Our hypothesis can be confirmed by the correspondence of this weight to some silver ingots commonly found in Ancient Rus'.
It is precisely this average weight that the famous “Kyiv hryvnia” strive for, i.e. silver ingots with an average weight of 159 g (which, taking into account waste, gives us the required weight), which are known in Southern Rus' from the 11th to the 13th centuries. In the appearance of these bars, it seems to me, we find confirmation of the idea that the increase in the weight of the coin and the adaptation of the monetary account to Byzantine measures led to the emergence of a new hryvnia with a theoretical weight of 163.5 g, but which continued to weigh the same 50 dirhams , but with more weight.
4. NOGATA and INCREASE of KUNS in HRYVNIA to 25
I have already given above the assumption that the early hryvnia consisted of not 25, but only 20 kunas. And he promised to explain why in subsequent times the number of kunas in the hryvnia was exactly the same, and not as in the times of the Brief Russian Truth (XI century), when there were 25 kunas in the hryvnia.
We must understand that increasing the weight of the coin from 2.73 to 3.1-3.4 grams should not automatically lead to an increase in the value of marten fur, expressed in terms of the amount of silver. The weight of the hryvnia increased, while the cost of the kuna (marten fur), measured in grams of silver, should not have increased significantly. This means that the number of kunas in the hryvnia should have increased in the proportion of 136.4 to 163.5. Which just gives the figures approximately 20 kunas for the old hryvnia with 25 kunas in the hryvnia of the Russian Truth of the 11th century. Indeed, if a kuna at the turn of the 9th-10th century cost 2.5 dirhams, that is, about 2.73 g x 2.5 coins = 6.82 g. Then there were only two new dirhams for the same weight (3.27 g x 2 coins = 6.54 g). Therefore, in the new hryvnia there were 25 kunas (2X25x3.27), and in the old one there were only 20.
At the same time, already at the time of the new hryvnia in 163.5, the memory was preserved that the hryvnia was once divided into 20 kun fractions. Therefore, 1/20 of the hryvnia of 163.5, expressed in silver, began to be considered a full-fledged unit of account or nogata (from the Arabic “nagd” - “full-weight”), as opposed to the new 1/25 fraction.
The estimated weight of this fraction of the hryvnia (nogat) was 8.17 grams of silver and was used as the basis for spherical weights weighing approximately 4 and 8 g (and multiples thereof). 8.17 grams - nogata, a weight of 4.09 grams in half a nogata (similar to the ratio of kuna = 2 rezana) was close to the later Russian zolotnik (4.266 g).
5. CUT IS NOT A CUT COIN
The appearance of cut coins as 1/2 of the kuna fraction is associated by researchers with known cases of coins being cut into 2 parts. However, these scraps have very different weights, are few in number compared to the total weight of coins, and only in the picture can they look like a coin with a denomination of 1/2 dirham. In fact, these are ordinary makeweights (for example, 0.5 dirhams to 2 for the purchase of one marten fur). Soon after the cessation of the influx of dirhams to Rus' at the beginning of the 11th century, their circulation completely disappeared. Meanwhile, centuries later, the Rezans are mentioned in new lists of Russian Pravda and other Russian sources.
In documents related to Russian-German trade, fur banknotes are known under this name, which were bundles of squirrel skins equipped with special seals certifying their value. According to Hanseatic documents of the 15th century. they were called: “reyse”, “reise”, “roise”, “resis”, which indicates a low grade of squirrel skin = “trimming”, “cutting”, “cutting”. And, undoubtedly, it directly depends on the name of another famous ancient Russian monetary unit - rezany.Another name for them, known since the 13th century. - schevenissen (from the Russian shevni - a bag or the required amount of skins for it, shevnitsa - a monetary unit known in the 15th century, cf. “squirrels shevni”, “Belki vekshi”).
The fact that exactly the same cut fur banknotes instead of real furs (goods) were used by Russian merchants already in the 10th century is evidenced by messages from Arab writers:
Ibn Faldan (first half of the 10th century):
“Dirhams of the Rus are a gray squirrel without hair, tail, front and hind legs and head, (as well as) sable... They use them to make barter transactions, and they cannot be taken out of there, so they are given for goods.”
Al-Garnati (XII century):
“They pay each other with old squirrel skins, which have no wool on them, and which can never be used for anything, and which are not good for anything at all. If the skin of the squirrel’s head and the skin of the squirrel’s paws are intact, then every 18 skins are worth a silver dirham, tied into bundles and called jukn.”
We see here that they confirm the 1 to 1 ratio of banknotes to dirham that we have established, calling the hryvnia of cut skins not “cut”, but “junk”. That is, apparently a distorted “kuna”, since in the 12th century the kuna and Ryazan merged into a single monetary unit. But more on that below.
The desire of trade participants to make the new means of circulation equivalent to one dirham is understandable. And this (the appearance of Ryazana, as half of the kuna) could have happened precisely at the time when the kuna, i.e. marten fur began to cost 2 silver dirhams with an estimated weight of 3.27 g.
6. MERGING OF REZANA AND KUNA
The change in the value of marten fur after fixing the weight of the kuna in silver would inevitably, over time, lead to a gap between the kuna as a commodity and the kuna as a monetary-weight unit. Perhaps already at the beginning of the 11th century, the kuna was already an abstract unit of account, equivalent to a certain amount of silver. The real means of circulation was the cut, that is, the fur banknote, the value of which in silver was fixed at 3.27 grams.
The lack of circulation of the kuna, the cessation of the flow of silver, the presence of its real equivalent in the 12th century made its circulation redundant. The name kuna was transferred to rezana. In the south it was preserved as 1/50 of the hryvnia of 163.5 grams.
In the north, the “old kun” (rezan) are adapting to the conditions of northern European trade and European measures.
Old hryvnia kun as shown by V.L. Ioannina, decreases in weight to 51 g in the 12th century. At the same time, as before, it includes 50 coins, but not dirhams, but European denarii, weighing 1.02 g. 4 hryvnias of “old kunas” are equal to the European half-pound of silver (about 200 grams), which is called “new hryvnia” or “silver hryvnia”.
03/02/2013 at 13:50
The money of Ancient Rus' did not even remotely resemble modern coins and banknotes. This is what the Novgorod hryvnia looked like, for example.
These gold or silver bars weighing 200 grams were used not only for calculations, but also for measuring weight, and sometimes they served as a badge of honor for wealthy gentlemen and a means of savings (like a modern bank deposit). Few could afford to have a hryvnia: princes, boyars and very rich merchants. Historians believe that for one hryvnia one could buy a farm with 5-6 households with a hundred souls or the best war horse (a war horse cost twenty cows or ten ordinary horses).
Many Russian numismatists claim that the hryvnia was not only the first monetary unit, but also the first award in Rus'. According to legend, exactly a thousand years ago, Prince Vladimir awarded the hero Alyosha Popovich with a golden hryvnia for his military exploits. It was Kyiv hryvnia.
The first mentions of the Novgorod hryvnia appeared later: they are found in acts of the 1130s. Its name comes from the name of a woman’s neck jewelry - hryvnia, which was also made from precious metals - gold or silver. At the same time, the gold hryvnia was 12.5 times more expensive than the silver one.
The silver hryvnia was equivalent to a certain number of coins (different at different times). Therefore, later they began to call it “hryvnia kun (coins).”
Initially, the weight of the kun hryvnia and the silver hryvnia was the same, but the former were made from low-grade silver, and therefore they began to cost four times less. A silver hryvnia became equal to four hryvnia kunas.
In Novgorod in the 13th century, along with the name “hryvnia”, the name “ruble” began to be used. This is how they began to call the Novgorod hryvnia, which was a stick-shaped silver ingot 14-20 cm long, with one or more dents on the “back” and weighing approximately 200 g. The first known mention of the ruble dates back to the end of the 13th century. It is mentioned in the birch bark charter of Veliky Novgorod, dating from 1281-1299.
For a long time it was believed that the ruble was part of the hryvnia, and this is where its name came from: “ruble” from “to chop.” However, later scientists proved that silver hryvnias and rubles had the same weight. Most likely, the ruble owes its name to the technology by which it was made: silver was poured into a mold in two steps - on Novgorod payment bars a seam on the edge is clearly visible. The root “rub”, according to experts, means edge, border. By the way, now “rub” in the Belarusian Ukrainian and Polish languages means “scar”, and in Serbo-Croatian it means border, seam. Thus, the word ruble should most likely be understood as “an ingot with a seam (with a ruble).”
It is generally accepted that the hryvnia practically disappeared during the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Historians find different explanations for this phenomenon. The most common version: the Russian economy of this period was in such decline that money was not required: they were paid in livestock, animal skins, grain and similar goods.
The article was prepared based on site materials http://rus-biography.ru
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Psychology
On September 23, the equinox occurs throughout the globe, except for the polar regions, that is, the light and dark times of the day will last equally. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Day of the Autumn Equinox began, and in the Southern Hemisphere, accordingly, the Day of the Vernal Equinox.
Adaptation is a rather long process; it is getting used to a new regime, conditions, environment. If your child is about to enter first grade, now is the time to start preparing. Each baby is aware of changes and experiences them in their own way; the adaptation period can last from a couple of weeks to 5-6 months. This depends on the character of the first grader, his environment, the level of complexity of the school curriculum, and the child’s degree of readiness. The support of loved ones is also very important: the stronger the child feels it, the easier the adaptation process will be.
The Family Tree congratulates you on the holiday of Spring and Labor!
The Russian people never sat idle, except that on holidays they allowed themselves to relax a little. There were professions in Rus' that were respected and rare, complex and mysterious.Some have not reached our times, others have received a new birth, and others have completely disappeared.
What was the labor market like in Russia? wushi?
To prepare cottage cheese Easter, you need skill, a proven recipe, luck and knowledge of small tricks that greatly facilitate the cooking process.
Cottage cheese Easter is one of the main dishes of the Easter table.
Cottage cheese Easter and crumbled eggs are traditional dishes of the most important holiday of the year, so Easter made from cottage cheese can be called the highlight of the program.
Thursday salt, or, as it is also called, black salt, was traditionally prepared in ovens based on coarse rock salt, kvass grounds, cabbage leaves, and herbs. The ash remaining after preparing the salt was used as activated carbon, which removes toxins from the body.
In folk medicine, many skin diseases were treated with ash from cabbage leaves and herbs. Black salt is tasty and healthy; after combustion, a number of minerals remain in it (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, chromium). To satisfy the need for salt, you need much less than usual.
March 8 is a holiday with a complicated history. And today we don’t want to remember historical facts or go over the names of this day. We want all women without exception to be happy today!
Dear women, girls, grandmothers and great-grandmothers! You are spring itself, the very love and happiness of this world. You bring beauty, harmony and love of life to the world. All this is in you as a gift from nature, a generous gift. Be happy today and always, shine on your family, friends and strangers!
In the development of the Russian economy, including monetary circulation, starting from the 13th century, the northwestern territories played a huge role, and especially Novgorod, a large trading city that did not experience the horrors of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
It is through this city that silver comes to Rus'. After the victory of Russian troops on Lake Peipus in 1242, regular exchange was restored. The silver brought in the form of coins was melted down into a more traditional form of ingots for that time - hryvnia.
Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov "Novgorod auction"
The concept of “Russian money” in this era is fully expressed in one term - “silver”. The hryvnia kun is a large unit of account, which in the past consisted of Western European denarii or Kufic dirhams, has now turned into a hryvnia bullion. The new hryvnia of silver included four old hryvnia of kun, which consisted of coins.
During the coinless period in Rus', there were various types of silver hryvnia. The main types were -
Kyiv ingots of the 11th-13th centuries in the shape of an elongated hexagon weighing 135 - 169 grams. This weight coincided with half a Byzantine liter of silver - 163.73 g. They were manufactured in Kyiv - this is where most of the ingots were discovered. Archaeological research in recent years gives reason to assert that the place of their production was the largest monasteries near the capital city of Kyiv.
To date, over 400 hryvnias of this type are known, the distribution area of which covered Kyiv, Chernigov, Volyn, Smolensk and other lands.
Kyiv hryvnia
Chernigov hryvnias are diamond-shaped ingots. Unlike other types of hryvnias, they usually have an irregular shape and are rather sloppily executed. These ingots were produced periodically, depending on demand. The places of their production could be not only cities, but also rural areas.
The population had doubts about their quality, evidence of which is the frequent flattening of the surface - thus checking the quality of the metal in the ingot. This was also the reason why Chernigov-type hryvnias most often became raw materials for artisan jewelers. Their production was concentrated in several regions, one of which was Chernigovo-Siversk land.
The average weight of these ingots ranged between 195.56 g and 196.74 g.
Chernihiv hryvnia
Novgorod hryvnias were usually cast from coins. This is confirmed by the finds of treasures. According to information given in Ivan Georgievich Spassky’s book “The Russian Monetary System,” Novgorod hryvnias are often found in treasures along with dirhams and medieval denarii.
Novgorod ingots had an oblong shape and weighed about 200 grams. The peculiarity of Novgorod hryvnias is that many of them have inscriptions - names and various marks.
There are two points of view regarding names. According to one of them, names are signs of quality - marks of craftsmen (Livtsi) who cast the ingots and are responsible with their honest name for their quality. Another version comes down to the fact that when creating joint trading capitals and enterprises, the merchant who contributed a share of capital (as they would now say - a shareholder) signed his silver in order to indicate the percentage of his participation in the business and, accordingly, determine the amount of profit received.
Novgorod hryvnia
On Novgorod hryvnias one can also notice rows of transverse stripes, usually scratched at one of the ends, which end in an inclined line. These are kind of working notes. As the researchers established, these scratches indicate the difference in the weight of the “raw” silver before melting and the silver in the form of the resulting ingot. Some of the metal impurities burned out during smelting, and the weight of the hryvnia became less than the silver brought for smelting, but the standard of the precious metal in the hryvnia increased.
When casting money bars in Novgorod, earthen molds were used. They were open. The top surface remained smooth as it cooled. The same planes that came into contact with the ground became porous. Craftsmen cast hryvnias using special spoons - they contained exactly as much silver as was required for one ingot. Along with large orders for casting hryvnias from coins, small orders were also received - from private individuals, for example. Thus, archaeologists discovered crucibles (containers for melting metal) in Novgorod for 1-2 or 3 ingots.
In the last quarter of the X century. The importance of Arab dirhams in servicing the money market of Russian lands has decreased. This happened through the depletion of silver deposits in the countries of the East, and consequently, a decrease in their supply to Rus'.
At the same time, the quality of Kufic dirhams deteriorated, making them unsuitable for use in international trade. In the northern east and northern west of Rus', this gap was filled to a certain extent by Western European denarii, but the money market of the southern Russian lands did not accept them. At the end of the 11th century. These coins also stopped being imported to Rus'. Taking this into account, in the first decades of the 12th century. coins took their place in the money market hryvnia- massive bars of silver or gold of a specified weight and shape. They were more convenient than coins for paying significant sums of money, they were easier to transport and turn into raw materials for artisan jewelers.
In the monetary circulation of the Eastern Slavs, hryvnias in the form of silver ingots have been known for a long time. A treasure of Kufic dirhams and hryvnias discovered near Staraya Ladoga dates back to 808. However, the ingots of the 9th century. were not yet coin hryvnias: they did not have a standard weight and fineness. These payment bars were used alongside dirhams and denarii throughout the 10th and 11th centuries, and their number was constantly growing - in individual monetary complexes they constitute a significant part. Yes, in one of the Volynian treasures, which dates back to the 10th century, there are 41 stick-like ingots. At the same time, gold bars of the same shape appear in the basin of the middle reaches of the Dnieper. From the XII century. Coin hryvnias - bars of standardized weight and fineness - are increasingly being recorded in treasures. There are no coins in these complexes, which gave researchers grounds to conclude that the “Coinless” period began in the history of the monetary economy of the Kievan state. However, the term “coinless” should not be taken unconditionally. I. Spassky used it to determine the break in coinage on Russian lands, which lasted until the second half of the 14th century. Indeed, during this time, coins continued to remain on the money market of the Russian lands, although their share decreased significantly. The emergence and rapid spread of monetary hryvnias were predetermined by the rise of the economy, crafts and trade, the development of feudal relations, the formation of large land ownership, which led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the ruling elite - members of the princely family, the service and zemstvo boyars, and the merchant elite. It was in hryvnias that debts and indemnities were paid; treasures in the princely, boyar and church treasuries were stored in them. In 1144, the Galician prince Volodymyrko Volodarovich (1124-1153) was forced to pay the Kyiv prince an indemnity in the amount of 1,400 hryvnia of silver, that is, from 230 to 280 kg of this precious metal. Somewhat later, in 1146, Prince Ivan Berladnik received 200 hryvnias of silver and 12 hryvnias of gold as payment for his service from the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav. In everyday circulation, due to their significant value, coin hryvnias and their fractions were not used.
Among numismatist researchers, there is no single idea regarding the dating of the appearance of the first coin hryvnia. Most of them are inclined to think that their production began in the second half of the 11th century. The first to appear on the money market Kyiv style hryvnia- diamond-shaped hexagonal ingots of silver, the weight of which ranged from 161 to 164 g. This almost coincided with half the Byzantine liter of silver - 163.73 g. They were produced in Kyiv - that is where most of them were discovered. Archaeological research in recent years gives reason to assert that the place of their production was the largest monasteries of the princely capital city. At this time, over 400 hryvnias of this type are known, the distribution area of which covered Kyiv, Chernigov, Volyn, Smolensk and other lands. Similar in appearance to them are the so-called pseudo Kiev heavy hryvnias, but they are much thicker and have smoothed edges. The main difference is their significantly greater weight - ~ 204 g, which is close to the weight standard of Novgorod hryvnia. The topography of finds of pseudo-Kiev ingots is limited primarily to the Ryazan and Tver lands, and there are much fewer of them in the territory of Southern Rus'. This enabled M. Kotlyar to admit that these were hryvnias of North Russian origin, which were an intermediate type of coin hryvnia between the South Russian and North Russian coin-weight systems. This type of hryvnia appeared on the market in the middle of the 12th century.
The most common throughout Rus' were Novgorod-type hryvnias, which looked like a slightly bent silver stick. Therefore, they are often called “boat-like”. At this time, over 500 units of Novgorod-type hryvnia are known, which come from 100 treasures. The weight standard for ingots of this type was 204.756 g, which was equal to half a pound weighing 409.5 g. Their production began at the end of the 11th - in the first half of the 12th century.
The most mysterious type of ancient Russian coin hryvnia is Chernigov type silver bars. Unlike other types of hryvnias, they usually have an irregular shape and are made rather sloppily. These ingots were produced periodically, depending on demand. The places of their production could be not only cities, but also rural areas. The population had doubts about their quality, evidence of which is the frequent flattening of the surface - this is how it was checked. This was also the reason why Chernigov-type hryvnias most often became raw materials for artisan jewelers. Their production was concentrated in several regions, one of which was the Chernigovo-Siversk land. The average weight of these ingots ranged between 195.56 g and 196.74 g.
An interesting fact is that in addition to whole hryvnias of the Chernigov type, half hryvnias were also made. Other types of hryvnia were divided into fractions by cutting whole ingots.
Old Russian hryvnias of all types were made by casting in open molds. Their quality was closely related to the perfect manufacturing of the mold itself. The length, width and height of the ingot depended on its implementation. Its surface is predominantly rough, porous, covered with shells (cavities), which were formed as a result of burning additives and slags. The quality of silver in coin hryvnias is quite high and ranges between 915 and 960 samples. The shape of the first Chernigov (North Russian) hryvnia initially corresponded to the samples of Kyiv ingots, but their thick and short ends were unfavorable for flattening. Therefore, a new shape was introduced for Chernigov hryvnias - diamond-shaped, with long elongated ends that were easily flattened. However, after some period of time, manufacturers simplified this shape by eliminating the triangular protrusions on the longitudinal sides. The appearance of the Chernigov type hryvnias became elliptical.
