Ghazi Giray II ruled the Crimean Khanate through one of its most turbulent periods, simultaneously managing tributary obligations to the Ottomans while conducting raids deep into Muscovy and Poland-Lithuania. His reign saw the Khanate function as a near-autonomous military power, with the Qrim mint producing small billon issues like this one to service local transactions the Ottoman treasury had no interest in supplying. The extreme lightness of these pieces reflects chronic silver shortages that plagued the Khanate throughout the late sixteenth century.
Ghazi Giray II ruled the Crimean Khanate through one of its most turbulent periods, simultaneously managing tributary obligations to the Ottomans while conducting raids deep into Muscovy and Poland-Lithuania. His reign saw the Khanate function as a near-autonomous military power, with the Qrim mint producing small billon issues like this one to service local transactions the Ottoman treasury had no interest in supplying. The extreme lightness of these pieces reflects chronic silver shortages that plagued the Khanate throughout the late sixteenth century.