The ingot has hexagonal shape. It is quadrangular in cross-section, elongated, the long sides are slightly concave, flat on the front and back sides, the upper ribs are slightly rounded. Silver ingots of a certain shape and weight are monetary gryvnias, which from the end of the 11th to the 13th centuries were a means of large payments on the territory of Rus. There are several types of gryvnias according to their shape and weight – Kyiv’s (hexagonal), Chernihiv’s (with flared ends), Novgorod’s (elongated), named after the place of the first find. For one gryvnia in Rus you could buy a horse or 200 squirrel skins. According to one version, the elongated Novgorod`s gryvnias were cut into pieces to obtain a smaller monetary unit, and over time these units began to be called rubles.
ru
