Russians can now sell precious-metal coins

Read the text and sum it up

For the first time in years, Russians can legally sell coins made of precious metals, but only those minted in Russia after 1988 and only at 20 percent of their market value,

Some observers see it as the first step toward formation of an exchange trading in precious metals and coins that would be accessible for individuals.

Until now, the only way to convert such coins into cash was through black-market dealers who paid prices at a fraction of market value. The change did not come about through government legislation, but rather because the banks see new ways of making profits.

Beginning mid-January, Sber­bank's Moscow- Division added coins — silver, gold. platinum and palladi­um minted in Russia after 1988 — to its list of sale/purchase items. Sberbank had previously started trading in gold bullion.

"This is a pilot project, said Andrei Tikhonov of Sberbank's Moscow Division precious metals operations. "At this point, we only can offer to buy these coins at 20 percent of their value. But after a while as we figure out marketdynamics, we will probably pay more.

"The market's capacity for coins made of precious metals is quite high. Sberbank's sale of such coins stays at 50,000 pieces a year on the average."

Coins vary in denomination; last year, a Pushkin series was minted to celebrate the writer's 200th anniver­sary, including a platinum 150-ruble coin. This year, 5,000 silver 2-ruble coins have been minted.

During the initial stage, Sberbank will buy only coins minted after 1988, because "since that year, coins of pre­cious metals have been minted in Russia on a more or less regular basis. The series of coins minted from 1979 through 1981 did not match qualify standards, and there is reason to believe that a large amount of fakes may have been produced."

" Sberbank's Moscow Division plans to use coins purchased from the pop­ulation, depending on their condition, either for subsequent resale, as mate­rial for jewelers or as scrap for indus­trial smelting.

"There are several enterprises in Russia ready to process low purity coins into higher purity ingots. Such ingots will subsequently be put in Sberbank's vaults as liquid assets," Tikhonov said.

The Central Bank of Russia has issued three to six series of precious metal coins quarterly during the last three years, each series numberingatleast 3,000 coins.

Sometimes, people buy precious metal coins for savings but more often for presents, because the sale/purchase price gap is very large. Besides, such coins are legal tender. However, they are accepted only at their face value, not the market one.

Exercise 1. Find English equivalents in the texts:

Драгоценные металлы;Рыночная стоимость; Превращать в наличные деньги; Законодательство; Золотые слитки; На более или менее регулярной основе; Не соответствовать стандартам; Ликвидные активы; Разрыв между ценой продажи и покупки; Номинальная стоимость.

Exercise 2. Find in the text the words to which these definitions are given. Compose as many sentences with the words as possible

1.Assets, that can be easily converted in cash

2.Rooms with thick walls and heavy doors to protect it against fire and thieves, in which money, bullions and important papers are kept in a bank.

3.Bars of precious metals

4.Any form of money which by law must be accepted when offered in payment

5.A very small amount or part of smth.

6.A standard of value

7.To make coins. The place where coins are officially made by the government

8.Worthless copy of something, intended to decieve

9.The value or cost as shown on the front of the coins

Exercise 3. Translate the text

Монета. Бумажные деньги

В те времена, когда за товары платили ценными металлами для торговли было большим неудобством то, что при каждой продаже и покупке приходилось определять содержание и вес каждого куска денежного металла. Это неудобство исчезло, так только общепризнанный авторитет стал гарантировать верность веса и содержание каждого куска металла. Таким образом, слитки металла превратились в изготовляемые государством металлические монеты.

Но как только деньги приобретают форму монеты, эта последняя получает независимое от её содержания значение. Ёщё резче проявляется разница между наименованием и действительным содержанием в монете. Не­благородные металлы, как, например, медь, очень часто служили первоначально деньгами, а затем уже были вы­теснены благородными металлами. Медь, а после введения золотой валюты и серебро перестали быть мерами стоимо­сти, хотя медные и серебряные монеты продолжали функ­ционировать в качестве средства обращения в торговле. Они стали соответствовать теперь определённым весовым частям золота. Стоимость, которую они пред­ставляют, изменялась в зависимости от реальной стоимо­сти золота и нисколько не зависела от колебаний стоимо­сти серебра и меди.

Очевидно, что при этих условиях их металлическое со­держание не имеет влияния на их монетную функцию.. Отсюда — только один шаг к тому, чтобы заменить металлический знак бумажным, прирав­нять законодательным путём не имеющий никакой стои­мости кусок бумаги к некоторому количеству золота.

Бумажные деньги могут заменять золотые деньги только в качество средства обращения, но не в качестве меры стоимости. Они могут заменять их лишь постольку, поскольку они представляют определенные количества золота.

Text 5

Money and its Functions.

Read the text and aswer the questions:

1. Why do people accept money?

2. Dwell on the functions of money.

3. Dwell on different kinds of money.

4. What's a barter economy? Why is trading expensive in a barter economy?

5. What currency can be used as the unit of account? Speak on the current situation in Russia.

6. What does IOU stand for?

Although the crucial feature of money is its acceptance as the means of payment or medium of exchange, money has other functions. It serves as a standard of value, a unit of account, a store of value and as a standard of deferred payment.

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