In ancient times, Russia did not know paper money. The equivalent of modern banknotes were voiced coins, and in different areas of the ancient country they differed: their measures, weight and face value were not the same. An ancient Russian half-kopeck copper coin was neither bizarre nor particularly valuable. Notable in her was only her name.
During the reign of the Golden Horde, the Russian principalities did not issue their banknotes, but the Tatar were in use. After the influence of the Horde residents on Russian lands was reduced in many places, coins began to be minted by local authorities, and the names of such banknotes often echoed the place of their manufacture. So, such coins as Novgorod, Pskov, Moscow and others are known.
Kopeks and sabers
Repeated attempts to centralize the huge uncontrolled money supply were successful only with Elena Glinsky - the mother of Ivan the Terrible, who in his early days actually ruled the Moscow state. This imperious woman reformed the monetary system of the state, unified it and put it in order. According to the unification, the ancient Russian half-dime copper coin had two varieties.
- Novgorod money - ancient coins, also called novgorodoks or lance money. A payment unit was issued in Novgorod, and this ancient Russian half-kopeck coin received its name from the image on the obverse of a horseman with a spear.
- Moscow money was issued by the mint of the Principality of Moscow . These ancient regiments were also called sabers because of the image on the front side of the rider with a saber carried over his head.
These coins were simultaneously in circulation, although they were priced differently - one Novgorod was equal to two Muscovites.
Over the several centuries of the existence of this monetary system, such denominations of the use of this money have strengthened: one hundredth of a ruble was called a penny. Also in use was an old Russian half-kopeck copper coin, the price of which was 1/200 ruble.
Monetary reform of Peter
During the reign of Peter I, an old Russian half-kopeck copper coin retained its significance and its name. At the same time, its final name was established - money. Later, the coin was called "money", there was also another name - "half a penny". Ancient regiments sometimes changed their name from century to century, but the denomination remained the same. In its meaning, this coin was in circulation until 1917.
½ penny in the USSR
The established Soviet regime carried out its first state monetary reform in 1925. The value of the old coin remains the same - ½ penny. She graduated with the same weight and had the same diameter as her "sister" of pre-revolutionary times. In August 1925, the Mint launched the first series of coins in denominations of ½ penny. By October, the turnover of such coins was 160 thousand rubles. The bulk of the surviving half kopecks dates back to 1925, but it is also known about the re-releases of this money - in 1927 and 1928.
Farewell to the coin
After the end of World War II, the need arose for re-reforming the monetary system. In 1961, the Mint began a trial production of an updated ½ penny coin. And to date, no more than ten pieces of copper banknotes of this denomination have survived. After manufacturing such probes, it became clear that they should not be launched into mass production - the cost of manufacturing this unit of money turned out to be too high. Therefore, it was decided to round the problematic prices, and withdraw the ½ penny coin from circulation.