Why did the coat of arms of Russia appear on coins only recently? Why did the Central Bank change the coat of arms on rubles?

12/08/2016

Since March 2016, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rubles have been put into circulation. Recently, the Moscow Mint, which since 2014 has been exclusively engaged in the production of ordinary change coins (the St. Petersburg Mint deals only with commemorative coins, although both mints produce commemorative coins from precious metals), confirmed that the Central Bank is not going to place an order for coins of lower denominations.

X A characteristic feature of the 2016 coins is the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. Previously, the reverse of coins bore the coat of arms of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. If this change is made without any reason, Russia has become perhaps the only civilized country in which changing the coat of arms on coins does not mean anything. Nothing like this had ever happened before. This was done “on the sly”—there were no press releases. The new design of the ruble just appeared on the official website.

In 2012-2014, a “test run” was made - seven types of commemorative coins worth 25 rubles were struck with the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on the reverse and different obverses (three designs that were beaten in 2014 and are considered separate types). But in the traditions of Russia, the continuity of the coat of arms for anniversary issues has never been established.

The new coat of arms asks three questions that only time can answer.

The first question: why are there crowns on the coat of arms? The Russian Federation is not a kingdom. The state emblem with crowns can still be explained by historical continuity, but why apply it to banknotes? Why not do what the Grand Duchy of Finland did in 1917, which, after the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, began to mint coins with the Russian coat of arms, but without crowns?

The second question: what political or social changes does the change of coat of arms on coins foreshadow and what will they consist of? It is unlikely that this change is timed to coincide with the annexation of Crimea.

And third: what will happen to the ruble itself? Is this a sign of an approaching redenomination, or have the Russian authorities decided to return to the traditions of the Russian Empire and back the ruble with silver (gold is too unreliable, since the price dynamics for the yellow metal rarely follows the ruble exchange rate, rather the opposite)?

On the obverse of all new minted coins, starting from 2016, an image of the State Emblem will be placed instead of the emblem of the Bank of Russia, this is stated on the Central Bank website.

It is noted that in world practice it is customary to depict on coins either the coat of arms of the state or the emblem of the issuing center. The Bank of Russia began minting coins with its emblem in 1992, when the state emblem of the Russian Federation had not yet been approved.

Note that the current emblem of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is a double-headed eagle. However, it differs significantly from the crowned bird depicted on the Russian coat of arms. The heraldic symbol of Russia holds a scepter and an orb in its paws, its wings are turned up, and not down, like the emblem of the Central Bank. On the eagle's chest there is a shield with the coat of arms of Moscow

In 2011 - 2014, the Bank of Russia used the image of the state emblem on commemorative coins dedicated to the Olympic Games in Sochi. The parameters of mass and dimensions, as well as the physical characteristics of coins with a new type of obverse, remain unchanged.

“All coins of the Bank of Russia currently in circulation continue to be a legal means of cash payment on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the message notes.

Emblem of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Photo: cbr.ru

Let us remind you that last week the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative 100 ruble banknote dedicated to Crimea and Sevastopol. Its circulation amounted to 20 million copies. The banknote depicts the Swallow's Nest castle and a monument to sunken ships in Sevastopol Bay, a fragment of Ivan Aivazovsky's painting "Russian squadron on the Sevastopol roadstead".

Under the image of the “Swallow’s Nest” on the strip below there is a QR code with a link to the Bank of Russia website page, where you can find historical information about the commemorative banknote. The banknote is made on light yellow tinted cotton paper.

In 2016, the Central Bank began minting the State Emblem of Russia on the obverse of coins - a double-headed eagle with all the attributes and symbols (crown, orb, scepter, etc.) borrowed from the pre-revolutionary period of the Russian Empire.

Of course, there are differences between what was before 2016 and what happened in 2016, and we must admit that the differences are very striking, they were beneficial, the symbolism is pleasant to the eye and touch.

In general, my review of the appearance of a small collection of coins in denominations of 2-5-10 Russian rubles, which I managed to accidentally collect during financial transactions with a cashier in stores or a conductor in public transport, is quite flattering.

I will say that the coins received during the exchange look very stylish, solid and prestigious,

than just the double-headed eagle of the Central Bank without an orb, a scepter and a crown, which bears the symbol of the tragic February Provisional Government of 1917 - a sign of uncertainty, and now this is over.

Otherwise, the changes to the symbol on the obverse did not affect the size and weight of the coins; they remained the same.

An interesting fact is that the Central Bank's naked and "unemployed" double-headed eagle depicted on banknotes was popularly nicknamed a "plucked chicken" for its appearance, which is indeed very aptly noted.

The era of the inglorious emblem - the image of the Russian Coat of Arms of the Provisional Government of 1917, the double-headed eagle of the Central Bank, without any attributes of the symbol of power and without St. George the Victorious on the chest, executed in 1917 by Ivan Bilibin in Russian money from 1992 to 2016, is becoming a thing of the past.

Emblem of the Russian Republic (1917-1918)

The sketch of the temporary emblem of Russia (from September 14, 1917 - the Russian Republic) was developed by a group of specialists, which included famous heraldists and artists V.K. Lukomsky, S.N. Troinitsky, G.I. Narbut and I.Ya. Bilibin. Considering that only the Constituent Assembly could approve the new emblem of the Russian state, they proposed using the double-headed eagle of the era of Ivan III without the attributes of tsarist power as a temporary emblem.

The coat of arms on the seal of the Provisional Government. 1917

The drawing of the emblem, executed by I. Ya. Bilibin, was approved by the Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov and Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov as a model for printing. Although the emblem was never officially approved, it was in circulation until the adoption of the Constitution of the RSFSR on July 10, 1918, which introduced the coat of arms of the new state. In the territory controlled by white forces, this emblem was used later - in particular, it was present on banknotes issued by the Ufa Directory. The coat of arms served as the basis for one of the projects of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. Subsequently, a similar version became the emblem of the Central Bank of Russia.

Previously, from 1992 to 2016, Russian money was printed with a double-headed eagle with the coat of arms of the Provisional Government of 1917, which each time during settlement reminded of the lack of nationality of the Central Bank.

Some minds are puzzling over the questions of why the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on coins in 2016 replaced the naked double-headed eagle with a full-fledged State Emblem of Russia, which was approved on November 30, 1993 by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, and let’s say not 15 years ago or 23 years ago? What is this patriotic Russian symbolism connected with, what were you waiting for before?

It should be noted that the experiment with the State Emblem of Russia on the obverse of coins - a double-headed eagle with all historical attributes and symbols (crown, orb, scepter, etc.) turned out to be very successful.

Until 2014, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the country’s leadership did not indicate an official position regarding the serial placement of the Russian coat of arms on domestic banknotes. Anticipating the introduction of these state symbols on coins in 2016, the press service of the Central Bank stated that the main emission and monetary regulator of Russia could not mint metal money with a coat of arms unless it was legally approved.

What did the President say about this?

In the spring of 2014, at a press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked the question of when the Russian coat of arms will begin to be printed on domestic banknotes. Vladimir Vladimirovich replied that this issue was within the competence of the Central Bank and he had not thought about it (but promised to think about it).

...and the Central Bank reported

In an official press release on the Central Bank website at the end of 2015, it was reported that since 1992, coins with the emblem of this state institution had been minted in Russia, since the state emblem had not yet been approved. The Central Bank had experience in issuing coins in 2011 - 2014, dedicated to the Sochi Olympics.

The State Emblem of the Russian Federation, model 1993, was legalized in early December 2000, when the corresponding Federal Constitutional Law came into force. There have been no official comments about why, for several years after this regulatory legal act came into force, the Central Bank did not issue banknotes with the image of a symbol of statehood. The press service of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in its message about the issue of coins with the coat of arms of Russia, only noted that the practice of many countries in the world allows the image on banknotes of either the official coat of arms of the state or symbols belonging to the issuing center of the country.

According to the head of the banking section of the all-Russian public organization "FinPotrebSoyuz", Candidate of Economic Sciences M.K. Belyaev, the changes associated with the minting of new coins with the coat of arms of Russia are not worth seriously analyzing: they are not capable of influencing the economic situation and the ruble exchange rate . Mikhail Kimovich gives an example with USSR coins, which depicted the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, which also in itself did not affect the dynamics of state economic development.

Paper version of banknotes with the coat of arms of the Russian Federation Since the beginning of winter last year, new banknotes of the Central Bank (in denominations of 200 and 2000 rubles), which also have symbols in the form of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation, began to come into circulation in Russia. Anticipating the introduction of this innovation, Alexander Yurov, Director of the Cash Circulation Department of the Bank of Russia, explained that it is part of the process of planned modernization of banknotes, during which coins and paper banknotes with the symbols of the Bank of Russia are not withdrawn from circulation.

The head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Elvira Nabiullina, commenting on the release of new banknotes, assured that they will be more convenient for circulation than the previous hundred-ruble and thousand-ruble banknotes. Elvira Sakhipzadovna added: the model range of Russian banknotes will no longer be modernized and the Central Bank is not going to issue banknotes of other denominations.

In Russia, not a single fateful thing is done in one go. So:

In the troubled times of 1598 - 1613, in order to expel the Polish invaders from Moscow, the First Boyar Militia of Lyapunov was first convened, which, not finding agreement in its ranks, killed its leader Lyapunov and the bulk of its extras ran over to the side of the enemy. Then the Second People's Militia of Minin and Pozharsky was convened, which expelled the Polish occupiers, but was never able to restore the social state created before the Troubles by the Russian Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV the Merciful (the Terrible). As a result of the machinations and betrayal of the pro-European boyars and the Catholic Church, a German from the Oldenburg dynasty of the Holstein-Gottorp branch, who took the Russian surname Romanov for conspiracy, was placed on the Russian royal throne.

In troubled times 1905 - 1917. The expulsion from the Russian Empire of the hated German dynasty of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs also took place in two stages. First, the February 1917 bourgeois-bureaucratic coup d'etat took place, as a result of which the Tsar was overthrown and the pro-Western bourgeoisie, who seized power, pounced like jackals on Russia, which had been thrown into chaos, and began to rob and sell it to the Entente. Then the rebel people under the leadership of the God-given Leader V.I. Lenin carried out the Great October Socialist Revolution, expelling the Germans of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs, their colonial anti-people administration of officials, and the February “white” enemies of Russia.

In troubled times 1985 - 1993. everything happened in reverse order. Out of nowhere, the tsarist “Cossack captains”, hung with crosses bought at flea markets and red stripes sewn onto knitted pants, organized unrest and a counter-revolutionary coup, as a result of which the mighty USSR perished. And at the first stage (1991-93), Jews, traders and artists took advantage of this. Having seized power and plundered the people's untold wealth, these "citizens of the world" established their system of colonization of natural resources and population in the fragment of the Russian-USSR Empire. But there is a limit to everything. And here we again see signs of the SECOND STAGE. These signs are still timid, but they are there. Here's one of them.

The Bank of Russia reports that starting from 2016, the obverse of all coins that currently use the Bank of Russia emblem will feature an image of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation.

Look at this change. Doesn't remind you of anything? Reminds me! The coins bore the coat of arms of the Provisional Government of the February 1917 model. The new coins will feature the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire.

In world practice, it is customary to depict on coins either the coat of arms of the state or the emblem of the issuing center. The Bank of Russia began minting coins with its emblem (actually the Coat of Arms of the Provisional Government) in 1992, when the state emblem of the Russian Federation had not yet been approved. In 2011 - 2014, the Bank of Russia used the image of the state emblem on commemorative coins dedicated to the Olympic Games in Sochi.

The parameters of mass and dimensions, as well as the physical characteristics of coins with a new type of obverse, remain unchanged.

All Bank of Russia coins currently in circulation continue to be legal means of cash payment on the territory of the Russian Federation.