Pawnshop's birthday

One of the unusual holidays that falls on September 28 is the pawnshop's birthday It is noted by receivers, appraisers and other specialists working in the field of consumer lending Banks issue loans secured by real estate and valuable assets, such as a car When a small amount of money is urgently needed, people turn to a pawnshop There you can get financial funds secured by any property - from jewelry and natural fur coats to Swiss watches and a camera Loans appeared almost immediately with the cessation of natural exchange and the beginning of people using money for payments - gold coins, silver bars, pearls, cowrie shells, etc The first pawnshop, where loans were issued against the security of movable and immovable property, was opened on September 28, 1618 in Brussels Although references to this oldest financial institution are found in ancient Chinese, Greek and Roman sources In Belgium, the credit institution was founded by representatives of the Italian banking house of Lombardi, in whose honor the loan shops got their names Their services were used by both ordinary citizens and royalty The symbol of the pawnshop is three golden balls, borrowed from the Medici family coat of arms It was on the lands of this family in northern Italy that Lombardy was located In Russia, coin offices—government institutions that issued loans against collateral—opened in 1772 in Moscow and St Petersburg The first private pawnshop appeared in 1888 in Vologda The initiator of its opening was the city mayor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Khristofor Ledentsov He believed that pawnshops conducted more honest financial activities than moneylenders Ledentsov donated his own salary - 6,162 rubles - to the organization of a credit institution in Vologda 67 kopecks By the revolution of 1917, there were about 100 operating pawnshops in Russia With the Bolsheviks coming to power they were nationalized During the NEP, 1922-1923, pawnshops became part of public service enterprises Thus, an element of the bourgeois way of life was given a chance to work in the interests of the proletariat The second time the heyday of these government institutions was observed in the late 80s 20th century, when people especially needed affordable consumer loans In the “roaring nineties,” pawnshops helped citizens out, helping them survive from paycheck to paycheck During these years, many criminal stories were associated with them However, with the release of the “Regulations on licensing the activities of pawnshops” in 2000, the work of credit institutions began to be strictly controlled by the state This minimized risks for citizens who apply for loans The advantages of pawnshops include a larger list of types of collateral and the speed of lending money with minimal documentation Institutions offer favorable terms for extending credit and low interest rates on loans, regardless, unlike banks, of the purpose for obtaining them This type of commercial organization is an important part of the credit system of most countries Therefore, on September 28, employees of institutions annually celebrate the pawnshop’s birthday