Altyn

Altyn (Russian алты́н, also алты́нник, altynnik) 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 six dengi, equivalent to three kopeck silver, then copper, a small value coin,²³ or 180–206 copper puls.⁴

From the 14th century, the altyn had been in use in several Russian principalities as a Eurasian currency between Russian and Asian traders.⁵ Treaties between the principalities of Moscow, Ryazan and Tver show that the rate remained the same.⁶ One altyn was equal to six dengi, while one ruble was equal to 200 (in Moscow) or 220 (in Pskov) dengi.⁶ In the Sudebnik of 1497, one ruble was equal to 200 dengi, while one altyn was equal to six dengi.⁷

They were minted from 1654 under Alexis I, and under Peter I as silver coins from 1704 to 1718. Peter began minting silver ruble coins in 1704 and made the ruble the first decimal currency; the altyn was equal to three kopecks.⁸⁹ 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 1991.¹⁰

In the 2010s, the Eurasian Economic Commission drafted first proposals to revive the altyn by 2025 as a common currency of the Eurasian Economic Union. The international sanctions against Russia reportedly encouraged the bloc to expedite the process by 3–5 years but to no avail.¹⁰ As of December 2025, the currency had still not been re-introduced in any capacity.