Russian chervonets

Chervonets (Russian: Черво́нец; plural chervontsy or chervontsev) is a former currency of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Originally a term for coins of purer alloy (the name derives from "червонное золото" ("chervonnoye zoloto") meaning pure gold), the name was later applied to various sums in Russian rubles.

The term comes from Polish czerwony złoty. Before the reign of Peter I, the name chervonets was applied to various foreign gold coins in circulation in Russia, mostly Dutch ducats and Venetian sequins. In 1701, Russia introduced its own gold chervonets, which had the same mass (3.47 g) and alloy (.986) as the ducat. Unlike the gold coins minted in Russia from the 15th to the 17th centuries, which were used as awards only, the chervonets of Peter I took their place in the monetary system and were used in foreign trade. Chervontsy were minted until 1757, when they were displaced by the golden ruble (with a lower alloy) and by counterfeits of the Dutch ducat, which by then met the demand for trade in gold coins.

Under Nicolas II, the finance minister Sergei Witte conducted a currency reform and 10 ruble gold coin (Nicolas II chervonets) started to be used in parallel with gold imperial (15 ruble gold coin) as a principal legal tender of the Russian golden standard. The mintage of 10 ruble coins in 1897−1911 was over 40 million pieces. Gold coins were in circulation and could be exchanged for banknotes of the same denomination without restrictions. On the 23 July/ 5 August 1914 a paper-to-gold exchange was suspended "temporarily" and never restored.

In 1922, during the civil war, the Soviet government tried to enforce Communist economic ideals and eliminate debt through systematic devaluation of the ruble and its associated currencies (various forms of Imperial ruble, kerenki and later sovznaki). Meanwhile, the authorities introduced a parallel currency, called the chervonets, which was fully convertible and backed by the gold standard. The chervonets existed in paper form (for domestic circulation) and as gold coins (for international payments). These coins contained 8.6 g of .900 alloy, and fetched a high rate on the foreign stock exchanges, allowing the financing of the Soviet Union's New Economic Policy. 2,751,200 coins with the year 1923 on the reverse were minted in 1923 (1,113,200 pieces) and 1924 (1,638,000 pieces).

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