366

PAPER MONEY.

CHAP. XXX.

greater or less at the end than at the beginningof the period.

Russia differs from all the other divisions ofour part of the world in not having returned topayments in metallic money. When its papermoney was first issued, and the quantity small, therouble was worth about three shillings and four-pence sterling, or of the same value as the silvercoin of that name. The increased quantitygradually depreciated the metallic value of thepaper till one silver rouble was worth four paperroubles. It had nearly attained this low value in1810, when the paper roubles amounted to fivehundred and seventy-seven millions. It wasnearly of the same, but somewhat greater, valuein 1830, though the amount had increased to sixhundred and thirty-nine millions.

Taking the paper rouble at one twenty-fifthpart of a pound sterling, the value of the wholemass of paper money in the Russian empire wasin 1810 twenty-three millions, and in 1830 twenty-five millions and a quarter. As there had beenan increase in the value of the rouble whenmeasured by the precious metals, we may assumethat all the paper money of Russia possessednearly the same power of purchasing gold or silverin the year 1830 as it had in 1810.

In Austria the paper money known by the nameof Wiener Whdrung had increased till it amountednominally to one thousand and sixty millions of