The period of the reign of Tsar Peter the Great entered the history of Russia as an era of large-scale transformations in all spheres of public life. Significant capital investments were required for their implementation. In addition, finances were needed for the Northern War, which began in 1700 and lasted almost 21 years. It was these colossal costs that caused the monetary and tax reform of Peter 1.
Current Need for Change
Becoming the sole ruler of Russia in 1689, Peter the Great inherited from his predecessors the financial system, which was the result of two monetary reforms in 1679 and 1681. It had significant shortcomings, aggravated by the fact that the tax collection system was extremely imperfect, and constant shortfalls caused chronic budget deficits.
Among the reasons for the monetary reform of Peter 1 are such important factors as the need to make large purchases abroad, send young people there to study, pay for the work of foreign specialists, etc. At the same time, coins were constantly devalued due to frequent financial crises, and large payments requiredattracting significant money supply.
Besides this, at the beginning of the reign of Peter 1, retail trade suffered due to the lack of small coins. It got to the point that the pennies that were in circulation had to be cut into several pieces, using pieces of leather with stamps applied to them as a substitute for money. Additional confusion was created by foreign coins, which also circulated in Russia. Thus, among the reasons for the monetary reform of Peter 1, an important place was occupied by the need to unify the financial system.
General distrust of innovations
The exact date of the monetary reform of Peter 1 can hardly be named, since it was carried out in several stages from 1699 to 1718, it was preceded by a rather long preparatory period. The fact is that one of the ways to overcome the existing difficulties was the introduction of a copper coin, which had never been used in Russia before.
This innovation was met with extreme disbelief. In order to convince the people of equality before the treasury of silver and copper money, since 1701, sheets with a royal decree were hung out in city squares, the text of which was also read in churches at the end of services and in markets with a large gathering of people.
New types of coins
As a result of the monetary reform of Peter 1, the silver ruble became the basis of the financial system, having a weight of 28 grams of pure metal, which corresponded to the English thaler. In addition, for the needs of retail trade, a copper penny was introduced, unusuallyprofitable for the treasury, since the reserves of this metal in Russia were inexhaustible, while silver was imported from abroad.
Another result of the monetary reform of Peter the Great was the reorganization of the Mints, which introduced machine coinage everywhere. Since 1700, the production of copper coins began, which had the shape of a regular circle - money (this was their name) and half coins. Semi-half-shells were also produced, which were less than a penny at face value. However, at the same time, the so-called wire silver kopecks, which had a scaly shape, did not stop minting. Their photo is given in the article.
Additional innovations
The range of coins that appeared as a result of the monetary reform of Peter the Great was significantly expanded in 1701, when silver coins came into circulation: half a penny, half a half, a dime and ten money. Three years later, the minting of silver rubles and altyns began, as well as large copper kopecks, which had the correct rounded shape, the image on them exactly corresponded to what was applied to the wire, made of silver.
It is interesting to note that for a very long time the Mints issued both wire silver kopecks, which were a kind of monument to the pre-Petrine monetary system, and those that appeared as a result of the reform. Only in 1718, on the basis of a royal decree, kopecks were withdrawn from circulation. They reappeared after 6 years in the form of coppercoins.
Introduction of a unified monetary standard
As noted above, the essence of the monetary reform of Peter 1 was the unification of the financial system, which was eventually achieved by him. So, in the period from 1700 to 1718. Russia has completely switched to the production of coins of the correct round shape. On the obverse (front side) of the largest of them, such as 1 ruble, as well as 50 and 25 kopecks, there was a profile of Peter 1 and an inscription containing his title. On the reverse (back side), a double-headed eagle was minted - the state emblem of the Russian Empire, as well as the denomination of the coin and the date of its manufacture.
The only exceptions were "ruble notes" minted after 1722. Instead of a coat of arms, a monogram was placed on them, representing four cross-shaped letters "P". The people called such coins "crosses". The tradition of decorating the reverses of silver coins with similar monograms was continued by Tsars Peter 2 and Paul 1.
On the obverse of the silver coins of the Petrine era, which had a lower denomination, the royal portrait was not minted, but was replaced by the image of a double-headed eagle. On the reverse, Slavic letters indicated the value of the coin and the date of its manufacture. After 1718, on altyns (three-kopeck coins), instead of the coat of arms, they began to depict the figure of St. George the Victorious. It is interesting to note that from the time of the monetary reform of Peter the Great and until the beginning of the 20th century, the smallest silver coin in Russia was a nickel, since the altyn fell into disuse very soon.
Changing the coin stop
Describing briefly the monetary reform of Peter 1, which lasted, as already mentioned, from 1698 to 1718, it is necessary to dwell on how a very significant indicator, called in numismatics "coin foot", changed during this period. This term refers to the number of coins that can be made from any one strictly defined amount of metal. In particular, when it comes to copper money, 1 pood of the source material is taken as the basis for the calculation.
So, at the beginning of the reform, 1 pood of copper was used to mint coins for 12.7 rubles. By 1702, this amount increased to 15.5 rubles, two years later it was already equal to 20 rubles, by the end of the period under review it reached 40 rubles. It should be noted that each stage of the increase in the coin stack brought additional profit to the treasury, since over all these years the cost of copper did not exceed 5 rubles per pood. Thus, the implementation of the monetary reform provided the state with additional finance.
Gold coins of the Petrine era
The result of the reform of Peter 1 was the appearance of gold coins. In particular, gold coins were put into circulation, the weight of which was 3.4 grams of the precious metal. With this indicator, as well as the breakdown, they fully corresponded to the international monetary unit - the ducat. Double chervonets were also minted, the weight and value of which were twice as high.
In addition, for the first time two-ruble coins came into use, each of which was made of 4 grams of gold of the corresponding sample. On the obversea portrait of the tsar was minted in gold chervonets, and the state emblem was on the reverse. The front side of the two-ruble coins was also decorated with the profile of Peter 1, and on the reverse, unlike other coins, the image of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was placed.
Conclusion
Summing up the monetary reform and economic policy of Peter the Great, it should be noted that they resulted in the creation of the world's first financial system built on a decimal basis, as a result of which 100 kopecks became 1 ruble. In addition, the improvement of coinage and bringing them to a single standard should be considered an undoubted advantage of the measures taken.
As for the minuses of the reform, speaking of them, they usually point to the low quality of the products of the Mints, especially in the initial period, as well as to the numerous abuses and theft of funds that accompanied the introduction of copper money into circulation. However, in spite of everything, the reform, which lasted for almost two decades, gave Russia the opportunity to create the necessary financial base for the rearmament of the army, the construction of the navy and the solution of many national problems.
