Kievan Rus, Grivna

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Russian duchies did not issue any coins of their own. Instead people used silver ingots as means of payment. These ingots were called grivna. They existed in different varieties – the grivna of Kiev, for instance, was a longish hexagon that weighed about 160 grams (5.64 ounces); the grivna of Novgorod, on the other hand, weighed 200 grams (7 ounces) and was cast in various forms.