What is "altyn"

n. An obsolete and proposed unit of currency in Russia Central Asia.

Altyn ( Russian , also altýnnik) is a historical Russian currency (symbol: ). The name is Tatar altı meaning "six", since it was worth 6 half-dengas (six halves, Russ. шесть полушек), equivalent to three kopek silver, then copper, a small value coin, or 180–206 copper puls.

From the 15th century, altyn had been in use in several Russian principalities as a Eurasian currency between Russian and Asian traders. They were minted from 1654 under Alexis I, under Peter I as silver coins from 1704 to 1718. Later they were revived under Nicholas I as copper coins with a value of three kopeks from 1839. While the name altyn eventually got lost, three-kopek-coins circulated in Russia until 1991.

In the 2010s, the Eurasian Economic Commission drafted first proposals to revive the altyn once again by 2025 as a common currency of the Eurasian Economic Union, although western sanctions against Russia may cut the process to 3-5 years.

Altyn may refer to:

• Altyn, a historical currency of Russia
• altın, (алтын) the word for " gold" in several Turkic languages
  • Altyn Kyran (Алтын Кыран "Golden Eagle"), an order of the Republic of Kazakhstan
  • Altyn-Köl "Golden Lake", a lake in the Altai Republic
  • Altan Orda, the Mongolian for Golden Horde
  • a minor Kazakh Jüz "horde", numbering ca. 30,000
  • Altyn-Depe "Golden Hill", a site in Turkmenistan
  • the Altyn-Tagh range
• Altyn-Tolobas, a novel by Boris Akunin