Moscow

Mint

By the beginning of the reign of Peter I, Moscow had the only mint in Varvarka Street. The 1690s saw the beginning of construction of new enterprises to produce coins that used European equipment. Craftsmen from Europe worked there on a contractual basis and trained Russian specialists.

The Monetary Reform of Peter I in 1698 – 1724 made the copper kopeck and the silver ruble the main currency units   and introduced a decimal system (with 1 ruble being equal to 100 kopecks). The gold chervonets which corresponded to the ducat used in Europe in terms of its weight and assay value promoted Russia’s entry into the international monetary system. Thanks to the introduction of copper fractional coins, silver, which was scarce in Russia, could be used to mint larger coins and the government became able to carry out expensive large-scale reforms.

The new Red Chinese Mint worked without interruptions between 1697 and 1727 and then with small breaks until 1797. First, it produced silver wire kopecks which were made manually, and later it began to use machines to make all-Russian gold and silver coins, as well as coins for the Baltic provinces and Prussia.

The surviving building of the Mint was built in 1697. A monumental, richly decorated gate arch led to the courtyard.  The lower level was used to house production facilities, and the upper one housed the Assay Chamber, Stockroom and other rooms.  This level is richly decorated using the shapes of the Moscow Baroque style.

The Mint was expanded throughout the 18th century.

The premises of the Mint were used as a prison where Yemelyan Pugachev was kept in 1774 and, supposedly, Alexander Radishchev in 1790. The basement of the building was used to keep insolvent debtors (the notorious “debt pit”).

In 1781, the Mint housed provincial government agencies and other public institutions. In 1890-1892, the foundation of one of the buildings was used to erect the building of the Moscow City Duma in the Russian style (architect Dmitry Chichagov). The side building in the backyard which faced Nikolskaya Street was taken as the basis to construct the Nikolsky Merchant Rows, which is an outstanding monument of Art Nouveau (1900, architect Lev Kekushev, 5 Nikolskaya Street).

The Mint complex has been recognized as a monument of federal significance and included in the “Moscow Kremlin and Red Square” UNESCO World Heritage Site protection zone. Currently it belongs to the State Historical Museum.  2014 saw the completion of the first phase of a restoration project involving external work on the main (western) façade of the building dating from the 17th century.