Altyn

Altyn (Russian алты́н, also алты́нник altýnnik) is a historical Russian currency (symbol: ). The name in Tatar is altın (алтын) meaning "gold"^[1] and altı (алты) meaning "six", since it was worth 6 dengas, equivalent to three kopeck silver, then copper, a small value coin,^[2][3] or 180–206 copper puls.^[4]

From the 15th century, altyn had been in use in several Russian principalities as a Eurasian currency between Russian and Asian traders.^[5] They were minted from 1654 under Alexis I, under Peter I as silver coins from 1704 to 1718. Later they were revived under Nicholas I as copper coins with a value of three kopecks from 1839. While the name altyn eventually got lost, three-kopeck-coins circulated in Russia until 1991.^[5]

In the 2010s, the Eurasian Economic Commission drafted first proposals to revive the altyn once again by 2025 as a common currency of the Eurasian Economic Union, although international sanctions against Russia reportedly encouraged the bloc to expedite the process by 3-5 years.^[5] However, as of 2023 the currency had still not been re-introduced.

• Узденников В. Монеты России (1700—1917): Издание третье. — М.: Collector’s Books; IP Media Inc., 2004.

• Media related to Altyn at Wikimedia Commons