Ingots known as “silver grivnas” represent the monuments of coinless period in the history of 12th to 14th century Ancient Rus. For lack of its own coins and the cessation of the inflow of foreign ones, ingots remained the single form of metal money in the Russian principalities of the day.
In chronological terms, the collection is divided into several typological groups: ingots of an uncertain shape and weight, ingot cakes, the so called Chernigov and Kiev grivnas, the grivnas of northern weight, Lithuanian grivnas, boat-shaped Volzhsky grivnas and Novgorod roubles. Of exceptional value are manufacturer’s and owner’s' inscriptions – graffiti as well as harrowed grooves – found on the silver ingots.
The Hermitage collection contains two gold ingots and nearly 900 silver ones. They come from the seven dozen hoards discovered in the 18th–20th centuries in different regions of European Russia, including the vast areas between Volga and Ural.
