Graphic designation of the ruble. International designation of the ruble

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The national currency of Russia, the ruble, is one of the few currencies in the world that did not have its own unique graphic image for a long period of time. By tradition, most people used the simple letter “P” with a dot at the end as a designation for the ruble for a brief perception of the latter. In 2013, the National Bank of the Russian Federation decided to hold an open discussion and voting on the regulator's website from November 5 to December 5 to determine the graphic symbol for the national currency. As a result of the survey, a new designation of the ruble was introduced, but more on that below.

How was the vote?

280 thousand people took an active part in the discussion of an important state issue. More than half of those who took part in the survey not only voted for one of the proposed options, but also justified their choice in the form of detailed comments. Estimates of the voters and their feedback were carefully studied and analyzed by the specialists of the central bank. It was on their basis that the final decision was made. The procedure by which a graphic symbolruble was approved, was one of the tasks of Russia, in particular the Central Bank of the country, which is determined at the legislative level.

Voting statistics

The selected sign in the shape of the Cyrillic letter "P", which is crossed out at the bottom, became the favorite, for which 61% of the participants voted. 19% of survey participants voted for the second version of the image. The rest of the characters scored 5.5%, 4.5%, and 1.9%. Among those who took part in the survey were those (8%) who expressed their disapproval of each of the options presented. Citizens of various age groups and social strata of society became participants in the popular vote. The greatest activity was seen among the citizens of the country, whose age ranged from 25 to 34 years.

Most of those who expressed their opinion (72%) are men. It is also interesting that citizens (86.5%) who have incomplete higher education decided to choose the ruble symbol. The first 100 thousand participants preferred one of the proposed options on the first day of open voting.

Possible graphic options

The first interest in the choice of designation for the national currency was recorded back in 1998. At that time, about 100 options were sent for consideration, which came from 6 different countries. Then the real sign had an advantage. The mention of it is found in the historian Ivan Sinchuk and dates back to the 17th century. The outdated designation of the ruble was presented in the form of the letters "R" and "U", which were written in cursive. The first letter of the character has been rotated 90 degrees. Most of the proposals were limited to modifications of the letter "P". As an alternative, there were sentences in the form of the letter "b". This symbol acted as not only the old Russian sign "er", but was also a kind of hint that the Russian monetary unit can be attributed to the list of hard currencies of the world.

Introduction of the mark into circulation

The designation of the ruble in the format of a graphic symbol was considered back in the distant 90s, but it was not possible to realize the idea at that time. The relevance of the issue in 2006 was due to the fact that in the world economy, many currencies of the world have become more significant, which became a prerequisite for the introduction of their designations. Of particular interest to the domestic government was the designation of the ruble with a sign during the period when the European currency appeared in circulation. In 2006, at the time when the law on the Central Bank was adopted, the introduction of the image of the national currency became a very specific and topical issue. Residents of the country saw the real use of the chosen sign already in 2014. It appeared on new, minted monetary units with a denomination of 1 ruble. This sign is planned to be used in the packaging of banknotes and in the future to be used as a security mark on paper banknotes and in other formats.

International ruble designation

The international graphic image of the Russian currency, as mentioned above, is now presented in the format of the Cyrillic letter "P", which is crossed out at the bottom. This symbol format represents the stability of the monetary unit. Elvira Nabiullina, Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, officially announced that the symbol will now proudly represent the ruble on the international market, in particular when displaying quotes and the actual value of world currencies. Work on the creation of the symbol has been carried out for 6 years by a special working group since the adoption of the law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which entered into force on July 1, 2007. Now the Russian currency can stand on a par with other world currencies and compete with them on an equal footing and in all branches of the global financial market.

New symbols on new coins

The updated designation of the Russian ruble today can be seen on new coins that were minted with a circulation of 100 million. They entered circulation on June 17, 2014 and have a denomination of 1 ruble. According to the information provided by the press service of Russia, the coin has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 20.5 millimeters. The reverse side of the coin is decorated with a graphic symbol of the currency and supplemented with the inscription "ruble". There is a stylized floral ornament in the form of a curved branch with smoothly intertwining stems.

Collectible silver coins

Newthe symbolism of the Russian currency can be seen on new collectible coins with a face value of 3 rubles. The coin is made of silver and has a diameter of 39 millimeters. The concentration of the semi-precious metal is 31.1 grams in one monetary unit. The sample of the alloy is 925. The quality of the product corresponds to the “proof” category. The circulation is 500 pieces. Products corresponding to the "uncirculated" quality were issued in the amount of 1000 pieces. In the future, it is planned to issue similar coins, but from non-precious metals and with a face value of 1 ruble. According to preliminary estimates, the circulation will be 100 million monetary units. In the future, a nickel alloy with galvanized coating will be used. From the coins in circulation, commemorative banknotes differ in the design of the reverse side. The tail is decorated with a relief picture of the graphic sign of the ruble in the "P" format, but with a crossed out leg.

Two countries, two stories, two different ruble graphics

In 2005, in honor of the decade of the country's currency, the designation of the Belarusian ruble was approved by the national bank of the state. Despite the similarity between the names of Russian and Belarusian monetary units, their symbolism is fundamentally different. So, according to the official reports of the NBRB, the sign of the Belarusian currency is a combination of two Latin letters "Br". The idea of creating the symbol was based on the desire of the government to make the country's currency original, recognizable and memorable at first sight. Its use should not cause difficulties in computer typing andwriting a symbol by hand, which, in principle, was achieved. After the official creation of the sign for the Belarusian ruble, the government strongly recommended that it be actively used by non-banking financial institutions, as well as in the production, placement and distribution of advertising materials, goods, services and works. As in Russia, the choice of symbols took place by popular vote, in the format of a competition in which participants offered their own versions of the sign. Three leaders, whose proposals were noted by the competition commission, received financial incentives in the amount of 1,275,000 Belarusian rubles. Only 5 characters out of 5,000 entries entered the contest.