Path to the rouble

Groszy, thalers, ducats: what currencies did Belarusians use in different centuries?

A national currency — on a par with the coat of arms, flag and anthem — is an integral attribute of a sovereign state. In our country, this is the Belarusian rouble, designated by the BYN international code and having the official symbol Br. Each of us can open our wallet and examine the domestic banknotes and coins issued by the National Bank. In terms of design and security features, they are comparable to modern global counterparts. However, we have not always used these roubles and kopecks. Monetary circulation on Belarusian lands has a rich history. Let’s take a look at what means of payment were used here in different periods.

Roman denarius

The first coins on the territory of Belarus appeared in the 1st–3rd centuries AD. Those were silver denarii of the Roman Empire, which found their way here in passing thanks to the ‘Amber Road’, along which Baltic amber travelled to the Mediterranean. Overall, coins did not yet have widespread circulation here.

Kufic dirham 

In the 9th–10th centuries, when coins had already become a real means of payment here, the time of the silver Kufic dirham of the Arab Caliphate arrived. It spread on the territory of Belarus thanks to the route ‘from the Varangians to the Greeks’. Two dirhams were called a nogata, one dirham — a kuna, half dirham — a rezana, quarter dirham — a veveritsa.  

Lithuanian grivna 

In the 13th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was forming. The influx of denarii and dirhams ceased, but they had not yet minted their own coins. Instead, silver ingots circulated — grivnas (Lithuanian, Novgorodian, Kievan), as well as marten, squirrel, fox skins. A full grivna was called a rouble, and half of it — a poltina.

Prague groat 

The main coin in circulation in our territory in the 14th–15th centuries was the Prague groat — a large silver coin from the Czech Republic. Over time, there was less and less silver in the groats issued. By the end of the 15th century, 100 groats were called a rouble when counting, 60 groats — a kopa.

Lithuanian denarius 

In the second half of the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania finally began to mint its own coin — the small Lithuanian denarius (penny). It was made using the wire method, so it had uneven edges. It was produced in small quantities.

Ducat 

At the end of the 15th century, the Vilno Mint appeared in Vilno [now Vilnius]. Various coins, silver and gold, began to be minted here: groats, half-groats, trojaks, szostaks, obols, denarii, ducats, portugals… A serious fight against counterfeiters began.

Lithuanian thaler 

In the 16th century, the silver thaler became one of the most popular coins in Europe. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formed by the union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, also issued its own. Yet, groszy, half-groszy, trojaks and denarii remained the most widely circulated. By the beginning of the 17th century, there were already 16 mints operating in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Russian kopeck

In the 15th–18th centuries, Russian kopecks circulated in Belarus, especially in the east. This coin, made of high-quality silver, was the main currency in the neighbouring Russian state at that time. It featured an image of a horseman with a spear, hence the name.

Boratynka 

In the second half of the 17th century, a monetary reform was carried out in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. A copper solid (boratynka) and a złoty made of low-grade silver (tymf) were issued. They contained less precious metal than their face value, were minted uncontrollably, and contributed to high inflation.

Silver rouble 

After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the territory of Belarus became part of the Russian Empire. Gradually, Russian coins came into use: gold chervonets, silver rouble, poltinnik (half-rouble), half-poltinnik (quarter-rouble), grivennik (ten kopecks), kopeck, copper denga, polushka (half-kopeck) and polpolushka (quarter-kopeck).

Assignation

In the second half of the 18th century, the first paper money appeared on Belarusian lands — assignations, introduced in the Russian Empire under Catherine II. Initially, the assignation rouble was exchanged for a rouble in silver, but over time it depreciated due to unsecured issuance.

Imperial

In the second half of the 19th century, in the Russian Empire, in addition to the issuance of assignations and credit notes, copper half-kopecks, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopecks were minted, as well as silver coins from 5 kopecks to 1 rouble, gold imperials (10 roubles) and half-imperials (5 roubles). At the end of the 19th century, gold became the monetary standard instead of silver; the imperial began to refer to a gold coin of 15 roubles.

Two kopecks as a banknote

The first revolution, the Russo–Japanese War and the First World War dealt blows to the monetary system. Due to inflation, gold, silver and even copper coins disappeared from circulation — the population did not want to exchange them for paper credit notes. As a result, paper kopecks, for example, were issued.

Chervonets as a banknote

The second revolution and the civil war added chaos — a wide variety of money circulated in the country. To stabilise the situation, the gold standard was restored: the State Bank of the RSFSR issued chervonets — paper ones in 1922, and later coins. One chervonets was equal to 10 Tsarist gold roubles. Other monies were withdrawn from circulation.

Soviet rouble of 1947 as a banknote

After the Great Patriotic War, in 1947, against the background of the abolition of the rationing system, a reform was carried out to replace money with new bank and treasury notes in a ratio of 10:1, only for deposits of the population in amounts up to three thousand roubles — in a ratio of 1:1.

Soviet rouble of 1961 as a banknote 

In 1961, another redenomination took place, introducing new currency at a ratio of 10:1. This remained in use until the end of 1993, even after the collapse of the USSR: banknotes with denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 roubles, and coins of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 kopecks and 1 rouble.

Belarusian one rouble of 1992 

After the country gained independence, the National Bank began issuing settlement tickets in 1992 with denominations from 50 kopecks to 100 roubles, featuring images of animals, which soon became the official national currency. The one-rouble note featured a European hare, so the money was popularly nicknamed ‘zaichiki’ [meaning ‘hares’].

Belarusian 100-rouble note of 2000 

In 2000, a redenomination occurred — by a factor of 1,000. After all, there was already a five million rouble note by that time. This time, the minimum denomination became one rouble, and the maximum was 5,000. Interestingly, real people were depicted on the 100-rouble note for the first time — ballet dancers from the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Two Belarusian roubles as a coin 

Finally, in 2016, the most recent redenomination took place — with four zeros cut from the national currency. Significantly, in addition to paper banknotes, coins were reintroduced into circulation after many years — with denominations from one kopeck to two roubles. Previously, the National Bank only issued commemorative coins.



By Yulia Statkevich