Since the seventh century, Georgia has been a Christian enclave within the Islamic world. Tblisi was the site of an Islamic mint of the rulers of Iran in the mid-seventh century and members of the Bagratid Dynasty issued coins from the eleventh century until Georgia fell to the Mongols in the 1230s. Georgia remained under Persian and then Mongol control until the eighteenth century. The Ottomans occupied George between 1723 and 1735, issuing silver paras, and Teimuraz II (1744-1801) issued copper pulis and silver abazis (1 abazi = 40 pulis) locally with Persian incriptions.
Georgia was incorporated into the Russian Empire on May 23, 1810. It was part of the Democratic Federative Republic of Transcaucasia that was founded on April 22, 1918. When Transcaucasia broke up, the Georgian Democratic Republic was founded on May 26, 1918. Georgia became part of the Federative Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of Transcaucasia on March 12, 1922. The TSFSR was a founding member of the USSR on December 30, 1922, but on December 5, 1936, Transcaucasia was split into three separate SSRs, including the Georgia S.S.R. Georgia declared its independence on April 9, 1991.
Russian Rubles (RUEP) were used in Georgia until 1918. The Transcaucasian Republic (ZKVR), the Georgian Republic (GER), the Federation of Socialist Soviet Republics of Transcaucasia (ZKSR) and the Transcaucasia SSR (ZKSR) each issued their own banknotes (but not coins), all in the form of rubles, divisible into 100 Kopeks. Transcaucasia achieved the highest inflation of any SSR, issuing a 1,000,000,000 Ruble note in 1924. The Transcaucasian Commissariat issued the Transcaucasian Republic Rubles, the Government of Georgia issued the Georgia Ruble, the Georgian Socialist Soviet Republic issued the Armenian Soviet Ruble, and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic issued the Transcaucasian SFSR Ruble. The British occupied Batum between December 27, 1918 and June 4, 1920, and issued some ruble-denominated tokens.
After 1924, Soviet rubles were used. The Chervonetz (SUC) was introduced on December 27, 1922, which was backed 25% by gold, and eventually replaced the Ruble Sovnazki as a unit of account. The Gold Ruble (SUG) was introduced on March 7, 1924 equal to 1/10 Chervonetz. A New Ruble (SUN) replaced the Gold Ruble on December 29, 1947 at the rate of 1 New Ruble equal to 10 Gold Rubles. On January 1, 1961, the Hard Ruble (SUR) replaced the New Ruble at the rate of 1 Hard Ruble equal to 10 New Rubles. Under the Soviet Union, the State Treasury and by the State Bank (Gosbank) issued banknotes.
After declaring its independence on April 9, 1991, Georgia continued to use the Russian Ruble (RUR) until June 11, 1993 when the Russian Ruble ceased to be legal tender. The Georgia Kupon Larit replaced the Russian Ruble on April 5, 1993 at par. However, Georgia suffered severe inflation, and the Larit (GEL) replaced the Kupon Larit on September 23, 1995 with 1 Larit equal to 1,000,000 Kupon Larit. The Larit is divided into 100 Thetri. The Georgian National Bank is the sole note-issuing authority for Georgia. |
