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Issues of 2008

Money of the Time of Troubles (1585√1613)

The distemper times of the early XVII century caused curious phenomena in the national numismatics. Antagonistic political powers claiming their lawful rights for the Russian throne used to coin their own money.

Kopeck of the tsar Vasiliy Shuisky minted in Novgorod. 1606√1610. Obverse and verso [zoom (35k)]

In June 1605, an upheaval arose in Moscow. A young tsar Fyedor, the son of Boris Godunov was murdered, and an usurper took the Russian capital without striking a blow and ascended the throne. The folk praised the new ruler; however, as you know love and hate go cheek by jowl. In less than a year, on May 16, 1606, the Muscovites revolted; the enraged crowd tore the false tsarevitch Dmitry to pieces.

A great number of kopecks though prove that the masters of the Moscow mint worked like a horse during the reign of the false Dmitry I as well as the mints of Novgorod and Pskov. The imposter did the foreign mercenaries a favor and gave them a lot of Russian kopecks. Trade with Poland also contributed to making more coins. The false Dmitry I let the merchants from Poland and Lithuania trade in Smolensk without any restrictions, but foreign money was not used.

Two weeks later after the false Dmitry I had been "removed from his post" on June 1, 1606 the coronation of Vasily Shuisky took place. The special verso plates for coins with the name of Vasily were made in a short time, and the new tsar started making his own money immediately.

At the very beginning of his reign the government faced serious financial problems, caused by the uprising headed by Ivan Bolotnikov. In December 1606 the uprising was suppressed, but in autumn 1607 a new cheat ≈ the false Dmitry II claimed the throne. He united his troops with those of Bolotnikov and the Cossacks of Zarutsky and approached Moscow. In 1608 Tushino, a small village near Moscow became the residence of the imposter who was given the name "the thief from Tushino". Thus, there were two political centers in the country: the government of Vasily Shuisky and the residence of Dmitry II with its own Boyar Duma and ministries.

Kopeck of the tsar Vasiliy Shuisky minted in Novgorod (?). 1606√1610. Obverse and verso [zoom (27k)]

In 1608 many difficulties appeared. Mints lacked all necessary material, caused by the irregular delivery of silver from the Western Europe. But they needed money badly first and foremost to pay the troops and the Swedish mercenaries, who came to Novgorod to help the Moscow government in accordance with the treaty, signed between Shuisky and the King of Sweden Karl IX in February 1609. Therefore, the main concern of the government was to find the sources to fill the state budget. Because of the lack of silver, they even began to use the coins of Boris Godunov for making their own coins.

On September 2, 1608 there was an uprising in Pskov, one of the centers of money minting. Pskov took an oath to "the thief from Tushino". So they started to coin the money of the false Dmitry II at the local mint. While studying the weight of the pskovian coins they found out that they tried to change the standard weight. Their coins were heavier than those of Shuшsky in Moscow, so it could be a serious argument in favor of Tushino.

While Pskov was isolated from other Russian towns in 1608√1610, Novgorod was in the center of the struggle against the Polish and Lithuanian invaders. Count M.V. Skopin-Shuysky was sent to Novgorod in mid 1608. He discussed the problem of hired troops with the Swedes. Besides, he collected the money from the towns, which were not invaded. In winter 1608√1609 Veliky Novgorod (Novgorod the Great) became the center of the national-liberation movement whereas Vologda became the financial center and the main source of getting money. At the mint they began to make the "legal" coins with the name of the tzar Vasily Shuisky and the letters NRD which stood for Novgorod.

While Pskov was in isolation from other towns, the Moscow mint was in a very poor state in 1608√1610. Already in 1608 it failed to function as a financial ministry and to produce the necessary amount of money because of lack of silver. Under such circumstances in May 1610 the government headed by Vasily Shuisky made an extraordinary decision to start producing gold coins for money circulation.

Kopeck of the Second County Militia. 1612√1613 (?). Obverse and verso [zoom (28k)]

According to the Law of May 27, 1610 the gold coins produced in Novgorod and Moscow were given as payment both to populace and to the hirelings. They could also be given while buying goods but the Novgorod coin was worth a "grivna" (twenty "denga") whereas a Moscow coin was worth only ten "denga". So, in accordance with the law one gold coin was worth half a ruble but silver coins were the same. Thus for the first time in the history of Russian money circulation of XVI√XVII centuries the gold coins and "dengi" were used as well as "ugorskye" and silver money. This important fact in the history of money brought the Russian monetary system closer to that of European.

The first production of gold coins had a certain purpose. The Russian troops together with the Swedish subunits gathered together in June 1610 in Moshaisk to move to Smolensk, which was besieged by Sigismund III (Zygmunt). Possibly production of gold coins was meant to support the campaign financially. Gold was supposed to be paid to the Swedish mercenaries. However, it is known that the commander of the combined forces count Dmitry Ivanovich Shuisky did not want to pay the Swedish and other hirelings. On July 24, 1610, the Russian troops were defeated during the battle near the village of Klushino because of the betrayal of the Swedish mercenaries. That treason opened the way for the Polish troops towards Moscow and led to the overthrow of the government of Vasily Shuysky on July 17, 1610.

Power was taken by the government, which consisted of seven boyars, hence its name. That government sent its delegation to Sigismund III with the idea of choosing Sigismund▓s son Vladislav as the heir to the Russian throne. The only condition was that he was to become an Orthodox. Sigismund agreed to sign the treaty. The boyars let the Polish troops enter Moscow. The Swedes thought that overthrow of Shuisky freed them from all obligations and therefore occupied a part of the northern Russian lands.

In 1610, all mints began to make the coins with the name of Vladislav on them, having preserved all the Russian traditions of making them. So many people thought it was the end of the Time of Troubles and ascension to the throne of the rightful tsar.

At the time, revolted Pskov minted coins of the false Dmitry III. That cheat also known as "Sidorka, the thief from Pskov" "reigned" through 1611√1612. In March 1612, the first Moscow militia acknowledged him as a lawful ruler.

Kopeck of the tsar Vasiliy Shuisky minted in Moscow. 1606√1610. Obverse and verso [zoom (29k)]

Meanwhile, the Second County militia in Nizhny Novgorod was gathering momentum as well. In February 1612, the new militia moved to Yaroslavl. Shortly a mint was established there; the folk militia government minted coins after ones of the tsar Fedor reign. The obverse of the Yaroslavl coins featured the mark of the newly founded mint: capital letters "ЯР" and a separate "С". Those coins were slightly heavier than other ones of the period.

Veliky Novgorod and its "namesake" ≈ Nizhny Novgorod were poles apart at that time. On July 16, 1611, Swedish troops under the command of Jacob Delagardi captured the cradle of the Russian nationhood. Before that, at the late January 1611 Veliky Novgorod segregated from Moscow and refused to take an oath to Vladislav. The town was governed by voivode (military leader) Ivan Bolshoi-Odoevsky and metropolitan Isidor.

The Novgorod mint coined its own currency through the whole time of the Swedish intervention. During the Swedish dominance, the Novgorod merchants obtained a free access to the Baltic trade. Big amounts of coins were ordered by private persons as well as by the Swedish headquarters and Jacob Delagardi himself. When Novgorod was freed in 1617, a special edict of the new tsar stipulated the obligatory restoration of the previous system of monetary minting at the Novgorod mint.