Moscow news
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10-Aug-2009
Out with an old note, in with a new coin
Russia's lowest-denomination note has been slated for a slow but steady retirement. The 10-rouble bill, which features an image the city of Krasnoyarsk, has become too expensive for the Central Bank to produce and circulate.
"Although the coins are more expensive to produce, all the same there will be large savings," said the first deputy head of the Central Bank, Georgy Luntovsky. The 10-rouble note has an approximate life expectancy out on the streets of just one year, while coins last decades. The Central Bank has calculated that by replacing the note with a coin, the saving to the nation would be approximately 18 billion roubles over 10 years.
The note will not be replaced by the existing two-toned 10-rouble coin, however. The Central Bank's new coin, which is being released into circulation on October 1, has a new design created with new technology.
"The release into circulation of the new 10-rouble coins by the Central Bank completes the changeover to new coin-production technology," RIA Novosti quoted Luntovsky as saying. Previously, the Central Bank's mint had used a copper-nickel alloy to produce coins, but it would now be using steel with a galvanic coating.
Besides being a monotone golden colour, the new coin will also be lighter, at 5.6 grams compared to the old coin's 8.5 grams.
"They will be lighter in your pocket," said Alexander Yurov, director of the Central Bank's cash-circulation department.
Luntovsky said that currently there were three 10-rouble banknotes for every 10-rouble coin in circulation. "This ratio will gradually change in favour of the coin," said Luntovsky. "I think the 10-rouble note will disappear in the near future, but I don't think that it will be this year. You won't even notice it happening."
Luntovsky said that there were no plans to replace the 50-rouble note in the near future, nor introduce a 10,000-rouble note, as there was no demand from society for either of the changes. As for axing the pesky 1- and 5-kopek coins, Luntovsky said that although the bank supported the idea of their removal from circulation, it had yet to find support for the idea from other branches of government. "We are holding discussions, but there haven't been any decisions taken and I don't know when there will be," said Luntovsky.
Fans of the old two-tone 10-rouble coin need not despair: The Central Bank is continuing to produce the Ancient Cities of Russia series. A new coin released on August 3 is dedicated to 9th century Veliky Novgorod, depicting the city's panorama with the words "Ancient Cities of Russia" above and "Veliky Novgorod" below. Five million coins are to be produced.
Lowest-denomination bills*
* Australian dollar: A$5 (US$4.20)
* British pound: £5 (US$8.42) in England, £1 in Scotland
* Canadian dollar: C$5 (US$4.66)
* Euro: ?5 (US$7.14)
* Japanese yen: ¥1,000 (US$10.54)
* New Zealand dollar: NZ$5 (US$3.33)
* Russian rouble: 50 roubles (US$1.60) after the 10-rouble note is withdrawn
* Swedish krona: kr20 (US$2.78)
* Swiss franc: SFr10 (US$9.36)
* United States: US$1
*Source: wikipedia.com
The Moscow News