A zolotnik (in Russian: золотни́к;

abbr. An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: zol.) was a small

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...

, equal to 0.1505 avoirdupois ounces, or 4.2658

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s (about 65.83

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

s). Used from the 10th to 20th centuries, its name is derived from the Russian word ''zoloto'', meaning

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

. As a unit, the zolotnik was the standard for

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

manufacture, much as the

troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and th ...

is currently used for gold and other

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...

s. This unit was originally based on a

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order ...

of the same name. The zolotnik circulated in the Kievan Rus until the 11th century; it was equal in weight to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

's solidus.

Relation to other units

The Russian pound was known as the funt. There were 96 zolotniki in a pound. A smaller unit, the lot, was equal to three zolotniki. There were 96 dolya in a single zolotnik. The zolotnik was also used to measure fineness of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum). In this case, the ratio zolotnik/funt was meant, so one zolotnik meant 1/96. For example, 14- karat (58.33%) gold was named "56-zolotnik gold" in Russia. As one karat means 1/24, one zolotnik is 1/4 karat. 91 zolotnik Russian silver has a millesimal fineness of 947.9. 88 zolotnik has a fineness of 916.6. It contains 91.66% pure silver. 84 zolotnik is the most common fineness of 875.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Conversion factors from zolotnik to other units of mass (contemporary and ancient)
Obsolete units of measurement Units of mass

Relation to other units

See also

Russian measurements

References

External links