Historic coins from RUSSIA

rupee

romanov dynasty

Ivan silver coin

Coin name	History	Date
SILVER COIN OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE	Ivan IV, generally known as Ivan the Terrible, was crowned Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533 at age three.  In 1547 he declared himself Czar of all Russia, a title derived from the ancient Roman term Caesar. In many ways his reign was to foreshadow that of Stalin's.  He set about centralizing the Russian government and consolidating his power.  He engaged in a reign of terror against anyone he thought might oppose him, torturing and executing many thousands of his subjects, including his own son. Entire cities were destroyed and regions were left depopulated.  Thus he earned his title "The Terrible".  Though he expanded the Russian Empire eastward into Siberia, his attempts to expand into the Baltic met with disastrous defeats.  The military, weakened by Ivan's purges, was defeated by Sweden and Poland.  He apparently had quite an appetite for women, having gone through seven wives and keeping some 50 concubines.  Having destroyed the and having killed his most promising heir, Russia fell into "The Time of Troubles" after his death in 1584. The only type of coin issued by Ivan is the silver wire kopeck.  The coin shows a horseman with a lance on one side and legends on the other.
ROMANOV DYNASTY	Following the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584, Russia fell into a period of chaos and civil war. In an effort to bring an end to the fighting, 16 year old Michael Fydorovich Romanov was selected as Czar in 1613.  Though many expected him to fail, the young Michael slowly established his control over Russia.  By the time of his death in 1645 he had established the powerful Romanov dynasty, which was to last over 300 years, until the Russian Revolution in 1917.  This small, crude silver wire kopeck of Michael was made by a strong-armed Russian pounding a small piece of silver wire between two dies. One side pictures a horseman carrying a spear.  The other has Russian legends in the Cyrillic alphabet.
CZARIST AND BOLSHEVIK 5 RUBLE NOTES OF RUSSIA	World War I brought the fall Russian Empire.  Initially the new Russian governments issued banknotes utilizing the same date and designs as the Czarist issues, making only a change in the serial number.  The beautiful blue and pink Russian 5 Ruble note dated 1909 was first issued by the government of Czar Nicholas II.  When first issued it was equivalent to 3.87 grams of gold, which is worth about $160 today! The large vertical format note is 99mm x 158mm.  The design incorporates the Romanov Imperial Eagle on both sides. The notes issued by the Czarist government had a full serial number consisting of two letters and six digits.  After the fall of the Czar in 1917 the notes continued to be issued by both the Provisional Russian Government and the Bolsheviks, still dated 1909, but with only a series number consisting of two letters and 3 digits instead of a serial number.  They are large, impressive. large pieces of historical currency from a turbulent time in Russian history.