Denga - Ivan IV Moscow

The denga issue under Ivan IV's minority rule is inseparable from the monetary reform of 1535, driven by his mother and regent Elena Glinskaya. The reform was a direct response to rampant coin-clipping and counterfeiting that had destabilized Muscovite commerce — old, lightweight pieces were recalled and a unified weight standard imposed across Moscow, Novgorod, and Tver mints. The Moscow denga at 0.34g represented half the weight of the Novgorod kopek, establishing a ratio that would anchor Russian coinage for generations.

Elena died in 1538, almost certainly poisoned, and Ivan was seven years old.