CLICK HERE FOR
COINS OF THE FORMER REPUBLICS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
For hundreds of years much of Russian commerce was based on these
tiny silver coins called wire money. The coins were struck by
taking a piece of silver wire, cutting it to the proper weight, then
smashing it between a pair of dies by a strong-armed Russian. As
might be expected, the coins are quite crude and are usually struck
partly off-center. The coin shows a horseman, on one side
and legends on the other. We
are pleased to offer you this selection of Russian Wire Money which
covers a vast sweep of Russian History.
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, and set about centralizing the
Russian government and consolidating his power. The title Czar is based
on the ancient Roman title of Caesar, as he saw Russia as a
continuation of the ancient Roman Empire. 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 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 economy of the country and
having
killed his most promising heir, Russia fell into "The
Time of Troubles"
after
his death in 1584. We have offer two silver wire coins of
Ivan. Silver wire coins was made by a strong armed-Russian
smashing a piece of cut
silver wire between a set of dies. As might be expected the coins
tend
to be a bit crude and irregular. The silver wire Denga (1/2
Kopeck) shows Ivan with an upraised sword. It was struck in Moscow in
the early years of his reign between 1535 and 1538. The reverse
features his name and title. The silver wire Kopeck was
struck in Novgorod after 1547, when he declared himself
Czar. The coin features Ivan on horseback carrying a lance on one
side and legends on the other. 
Following the death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia fell
into a period
of almost 20 years chaos and civil war. In an effort to bring an end to
the
fighting, in 1613 The Council of All Russia elected the 16 year old
Michael
Fydorovich Romanov as Czar. Though many expected him to fail, the
young Michael slowly
established
his control over Russia and wisely avoided involvement in the wars of
Europe.
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. 
Like
his father Michael, Alexis became Czar
when he was only 16 years old. Though he was later considered to be a
benevolent and gentle Czar, his reign included a seemingly endless
series of revolts and crises, To cover the increasing government debts
a high tax was placed on salt and a government monopoly on tobacco was
implemented. This caused
widespread riots so the salt tax was soon repealed. Next the
government
tried to debase the coinage. This caused another rebellion.
Attempts
at ceremonial reforms in the Russian Church caused further
rebellions. The issues in dispute included how many fingers
should be used when making the sign of the cross, how to spell the name
of Jesus, and the proper direction for religious processions.
Thousands of Old Believers, burned themselves to death in their
churches rather than accept the reforms. 
Peter the Great, the younger son of Alexis
ruled
Russia from 1689 to 1725. He was a great reformer, modernizing Russia
and
expanding its Navy, frontiers and prestige. One of his reforms
was
to abolish the wire coinage in favor of machine struck coins that were
used
in much of Europe. Thus he brought an end to this long series of
crude
silver coins. 
Item
RU-TOWN05 2005 SET OF 4 RUSSIAN HISTORIC TOWNS 10
RUBLES, UNC. $12.00Item
RU-TOWN07 2007 SET OF 3 RUSSIAN HISTORIC TOWNS 10
RUBLES, UNC. $9.00
COINS OF
THE
FORMER REPUBLICS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
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