US$1 is currently equivalent to approximately 84 Russian rubles. US$500,000 would therefore be worth 42 million rubles. However, this equation does not apply to a recent gold discovery in Torzhok, north-western Russia. The gold treasure discovered there has gained significant material value over the course of more than 100 years, during which it lay hidden deep below ground inside a ceramic vessel. The gold coins, at a total face value of 4,085 rubles, are now worth half a million US dollars, proving once again the precious metal’s role as a store of value.
Torzhok gold treasure’s current face value: US$18,000
Adjusted for inflation, the face value of the 409 coins, most of which are 10-ruble coins, would amount to around US$18,000. However, that fortune, substantial even at the time, would be worth much more today, not least because the ruble/US dollar exchange rate has shifted significantly in favor of the dollar. The ceramic jar was likely buried in 1916. At that time, the US dollar conversion rate was only 6.7 rubles, less than one-twelfth of today’s exchange rate. The current value of the gold treasure, estimated at around US$500,000, is due to the fact that the coins consist of 90 per cent pure gold. Each individual ruble coin currently has a material value of around US$1,300, i.e. significantly higher than its face value in 1916. All coins found were minted from the second half of the 19th century.
The 1917 Russian Revolution and the end of the Tsarist era
Researchers suspect that the gold was hidden away out of fear of expropriation in the wake of the Russian Revolution and the end of the Romanov dynasty’s nearly 300-year reign. The owner of the 409-ruble gold coins likely intended to retrieve the treasure at a later date. Meanwhile, the mystery of its ownership and why it remained buried remains unsolved.