The coines, weights and measures used in Russia
,
written by John Hasse, in the yere, 1554.
FORASMUCH as it is most necessary for al marchants
which seeke to have traffique in any strange regions,
first to acquaint themselves with the coines of those lands
with which they do intend to joyne in traffique, and how
they are called from the valuation of the highest piece to
the lowest, and in what sort they make their paiments,
as also what their common weights and measures be:
for these causes I have thought good to write some thing
thereof according to mine owne knowledge and experience, to the end that the marchants of that new adventure,
may the better understand how the wealth of that new
frequented trade will arise.
First, it is to be noted that the Emperour of Russia
hath no other coines then silver in all his land, which
goeth for paiment amongst merchants, yet notwithstanding there is a coine of copper, which serveth for the reliefe
of the poore in Mosco, & no where els, and that is but
only for quasse, water and fruit, as nuts, apples, and
such other like. The name of which money is called Pole
or Poles, of which Poles there goe to the least of the
silver coines, 18. But I will not stand upon this, because
it is no currant money among merchants.
Of silver coines there be three sortes of pieces: the
least is a Poledenga, the second a Denga, the third, Nowgrote, which is as much to say in
English as halfepenie,
penie, and twopence, and for other valued money then
this, there is none: there are oftentimes there coines of
gold, but they come out of forrein countreys, whereof
there is no ordinarie valuation, but they passe according
to the agreement of merchants.
Their order in summing of money is this: as we say
in England, halfpenie, penie, shilling and pound, so say
they Poledenga, Denga, Altine and Rubble: There goeth
two Poledengas to a Denga, six Dengaes to an Altine,
and 23 Altines, and two Dengaes to a Rubble.
Concerning the weights of Russia
they are these:
There are two sorts of pounds in use amongst them,
the one great, ye other small: the great pound is just
two small pounds: they call the great weight by the
name of Beasemar, and the smal they call the Skalla
weight: with this smal weight they weigh their silver
coines, of the which the Emperor hath commanded to
put to every small pound three Rubbles of silver, and
with the same weight they weigh all Grocerie wares, and
almost al other wares which come into the land, except
those which they weigh by the Pode, as hops, salt, iron,
lead, tinne & batrie with divers others, notwithstanding
they use to weigh batrie more often by the small weight
then by the great.
Whensoever you find the prices of your wares rated
by the Pode, consider that to be the great weight, and
the pound to be the small. Also they divide the small
pound into 48 parts, and they call the eight and fortieth
part a Slotnike, by the which Slotnike the retailers sell
their wares out of their shops, as Goldsmiths, Grocers,
Silkesellers and such other like as we doe use to retaile
by the ounce: and as for their great weight which they
cal the Beasemar, they sel by pode, or shippond. The
pode doth containe of the great weight, 40 pounds, and
of the smal 80: there goe 10. podes to a shippond.
Yet you must consider that their great weight is not
full with ours: for I take not their great pound to be
full 13 ounces, but above 12 I thinke it be. But for your
just proofe, weigh 6 Rubbles of Russia money with our
pound weight, and then shal you see what it lacketh:
for 6 Rubbles of Russia is by the Emperors standerd,
the great pound: so that I thinke it the next way to
know the just waight, as well of the great pound as of
the small.
There is another weight needfull to be knowen, which
is the weight of Wardhouse, for so much as they weigh
all their drie fish by weight, which weight is the Beasemar, as they of Russia
doe use, notwithstanding there
is another sorte in it: the names of those weights are
these: the marke pound, the great pound, the weie, and
the shippond. The marke pound is to be understood as
our pound, and their great pound is 24 of their marke
pound: the weie is 3 great pound, and 8 weie is a shippound.
Now concerning their measures. As they have two
sortes of weights, so they have also two sortes of
measures: wherewith they measure cloth both linnen and
wollen: they cal the one an Areshine, and the other a
Locut: the Areshine I take to bee as much as the Flanders
ell, and their Locut halfe an English yard: with their
Areshine they may mete all such sorts of clothes as come
into the land, and with the Locut all such cloth both
linnen and wollen, as they make themselves. And
whereas we use to give yard and inch, or yard and
handfull, they do give nothing but bare measure.
They have also a measure wherewith they doe mete
their corne, which they cal a Setforth, and the halfe of
that an Osmine: this Setforth I take to bee three bushels
of London measure. And as for their drinke measure,
they call it a Spanne, which is much like a bucket, and
of that I never saw any true rate, but that some was
greater then other some. And as for the measures of
Wardhouse wherewith they mete their cloth, there is no
difference between that and the measure of Danske, which
is halfe an English ell.
Concerning the tolles & customs of Russia
, it was
reported to me in Moscovia, that the Turkes and
Armenians pay the tenth penie custome of all the wares
they bring into the Emperors land, and above that they
pay for all such goods as they weigh at the Emperours
beame, two pence of the Rubble, which ye buyer or
seller must make report to of the Master of the beame:
they also pay a certaine horse toll, which is in divers
places of his Realme foure pence of a horse.
The Dutch nation are free of this: notwithstanding
for certaine offences, they had lost their priviledges which
they have recovered this Summer to their great charge.
It was reported to me by a Justice of that countrey, that
they paied for it thirtie thousand Rubbles, and also that
Rye, Dorpte and Revel have yeelded themselves under
the government of the Emperour of Russia: whether this
was a bragge of the Russes or not, I know not, but thus
he sayd, and in deed whiles we were there, there came a
great Ambassadour out of Liefland, for the assurance of
their priviledges.
To speake somewhat of the commodities of this
countrey, it is to be understood, that there is a certaine
place foure score miles from the Sea called Colmogro:
to which place there resorte all the sortes of Wares that
are in the North parts, as Oyles, Salt, Stockfish, Salmon,
Fethers and Furres: their Salt they make of saltwater
by the sea side: their Oyles they make of Seales, whereof
they have great store which is brought out of the Bay
where our shippes came in: they make it in the Spring
of the yeere, and bring it to Colmogro to sell, and the
merchants there care it to Novogrode, and so sell it to
the Dutch nation. Their Stockefish and Salmon commeth
from a place called Mallums, not farre from Wardhouse:
their Salmon and their Salt they carrie to Mosco, and
their drie fish they carrie to Novogrode, and sell it there
to the Lieflanders.
The Furres and Fethers which come to Colmogro, as
Sables, Beavers, Minkes, Armine
, Lettis, Graies, Woolverings, and white Foxes, with Deere skinnes, they are
brought thither, by the men of Penninge, Lampas, and
Powstezer, which fetch them from the Samoedes that are
counted savage people: and the merchants that bring
these Furres doe use to trucke with the merchants of
Colmogro for Cloth, Tinne, Batrie, & such other like,
and the merchants of Colmogro carie them to Novogrode,
Vologda, or Mosco, & sell them there. The Fethers
which come from Penning they doe little esteeme.
If our merchants do desire to know the meetest place
of Russia
for the standing house, in mine opinion I take
it to be Vologda, which is a great towne standing in the
heart of Russia
, with many great and good towns about
it. There is great plentie of corne, victuals, and of all
such wares as are raised in Rusland
, but specially, flaxe,
hempe, tallow and bacon: there is also great store of
waxe, but it commeth from the Mosko.
The towne of Vologda is meetest for our marchants,
because it lieth amongest all the best towns of Russia
,
and there is no towne in Russia
but trades with it: also
the water is a great commoditie to it. If they plant
themselves in Mosco or Novogrode, their charge will be
great and wonderfull, but not so in Vologda: for all
things will there be had better cheape by the one half.
And for their vent, I know no place so meet. It is likely
that some will thinke ye Mosko to be the meetest by the
reason of the court, but by that reason I take it to be
woorse: for the charge there would be so great by cravers
and expenses, that the moitie of the profite would bee
wholly consumed, which in the other place will bee saved.
And yet notwithstanding our marchants may bee there in
the Winter to serve the Emperour and his court. The Emperour is a great marchant himselfe of waxe and
sables, which with good foresight may bee procured to
their hands: as for other commodities there are litle or
none in Moscovia, besides those above rehearsed: if there
bee other, it is brought thither by the Turkes, who will
be daintie to buy our clothes considering the charges of
cariage over land.
Our marchants may doe well to provide for the Russes
such wares as the Dutch nation doeth serve them of, as
Flanders and Holland
clothes, which I beleeve, they shal
serve better and with lesse charge then they of Rye or
Dorpt, or Revel: for it is no smal adventure to bring
their clothes out of Flanders to either of these places,
and their charge not litle to cary them over lande to
Novogrode, which is from Rye nine hundred Russian miles.
This Novogrode is a place wel furnished with flaxe,
Waxe, Hides, tallow and many other things: the best
flaxe in Russia
is brought thither and there sold by the
hundred bundles, which is done also at Vologda, and
they that bring the flaxe to Novogrode, dwell as neere
Vologda, as Novogrode, and when they heare of the
utterance which they may have with our nation, they wil
as willingly come to them as goe to other.
They have in Russia
two sorts of flaxe, the one is called
great flaxe, and the other small: that which they call
great flaxe is better by foure rubbles in 100. bundels then
the small: It is much longer then the other, and cleaner
without wood: and whereas of the small flaxe there goe
27. or 28 bundles to a shippound, there goeth not of the
greater sort above 22. or 24 at the most. There are
many other trifles in Russia
, as sope, mats, &c. but I
thinke there will bee no great account made of them.
