Coin of Grand Prince Vasily I of Moscow
Type:
Coins
Date:
1389–1425
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Russia
Medium:
Silver
Dimensions:
1.5 cm
Description:
The Grand Duchy of Moscow began to strike coins in the 1370s, imitating those of the Golden Horde (formerly part of the Mongol Empire), whose khans were the nominal overlords of Rus'. In the 1380s they sometimes reused khanate coins by overstriking them. Grand Prince Vasily I of Moscow (r. 1389–1425) also had new silver coins minted across his duchy. Some were figural, others exclusively epigraphic. Their weight declined over the decades of his long reign, from about 1 gram to 0.79 g. On this silver coin, called a denga, a man is shown on horseback, holding a sword, encircled by Vasily's name and patronymic ("ruler Vasily son of Dmitrii") in Russian (using the Cyrillic alphabet introduced in Slavic lands in the ninth century by Byzantine missionaries). On the reverse, the inscription in Arabic evokes "sultan Toqtamysh khan, may his rule endure." Toqtamysh, who had earlier been defeated by Timur and who ceded considerable power to Lithuania, died in 1406, so the denga dates to the early years of Vasily's reign. The rider with inscription became the standard image on Rus' coins for the next 300 years.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• Grand Prince Vasily I is embroidered on the Major Sakkos of Metropolitan Photios, 1414–17
Image Credits:
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC; http://www.cngcoins.com; used by permission
