Interesting facts about the Russian ruble Is a great opportunity to learn more about the currencies of the world. The ruble is one of the oldest monetary units on earth. Depending on the time in which it was used, it looked different, while having different purchasing power.
So, here are the most interesting facts about the ruble.
- The ruble is the world's oldest national currency after the British pound.
- The ruble got its name due to the fact that the first coins were made by cutting silver bars into pieces.
- In Russia (see interesting facts about Russia), the ruble has been in circulation since the 13th century.
- The ruble is called not only the Russian currency, but also the Belarusian one.
- The Russian ruble is used not only in the Russian Federation, but also in the partially recognized republics - Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
- In the period 1991-1993. the Russian ruble was in circulation along with the Soviet one.
- Did you know that until the beginning of the 20th century the word “ducat” meant not 10 rubles, but 3?
- In 2012, the Russian government decided to stop minting coins with denominations of 1 and 5 kopecks. This was due to the fact that their production cost the state more than their actual cost.
- 1-ruble coins during the reign of Peter 1 were made of silver. They were valuable, but soft enough.
- An interesting fact is that initially the Russian ruble was a silver bar weighing 200 g, cut off from a 2-kilogram bar called the hryvnia.
- In the 60s, the cost of the ruble was equal to almost 1 gram of gold. For this reason, it was significantly more expensive than the US dollar.
- The very first ruble symbol was developed in the 17th century. He was depicted in the form of letters "P" and "U" superimposed on each other.
- It is curious that the Russian ruble is considered the first currency in history, which in 1704 was equated to a specific number of other coins. It was then that 1 ruble became equal to 100 kopecks.
- The modern Russian ruble, unlike the Soviet one, is not backed by gold.
- Paper banknotes in Russia originated during the reign of Catherine II (see interesting facts about Catherine II). Before that, only metal coins were used in the state.
- In 2011, commemorative coins with a denomination of 25 Russian rubles appeared in circulation.
- Do you know that the rubles withdrawn from circulation are used to make roofing material?
- Before the ruble became the official currency in Russia, various foreign coins were circulating in the state.