Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 1, 1851).djvu/303

 On one occasion, a servant of mine rode on such post horses from Novogorod to Moscow, a distance of six hundred wersts, that is, a hundred and twenty German miles, in seventy-two hours, which is the more remarkable, because they are small ponies, and far less carefully tended than ours, and yet such is the work that they will perform.

They have four kinds of silver money,—that of Moscow, of Novogorod, of Tver, and of Plescow. The money of Moscow is not round, but oblong, and of a sort of oval form, called a deng. It has different impressions, the old deng having on one side the figure of a rose, and the later one the figure of a man sitting on horseback; both of these have an inscription on the reverse. A hundred of them go to one Hungarian gold piece; six dengs make an altin; twenty a grifna; one hundred a poltin; and two hundred a ruble.

There are new coins now struck, with characters on both sides, forty of which are worth one ruble.

The coin of Tver has an inscription on both sides, and is of the same value as that of Moscow.

The coin of Novogorod has on one side the figure of the prince sitting on his throne, and a man opposite him making his obeisance; on the other it has an inscription, and is worth twice as much as that of Moscow. Moreover, the grifna of Novogorod is worth fourteen rubles, and the ruble of Novogorod two hundred and twenty-two dengs.

The coin of Plescow has the head of an ox crowned, and an inscription on the other side. They have also a copper coin called polani; sixty of these are worth one deng of Moscow.