Denga - Ivan IV Moscow

Ivan IV was still a child when this coin was struck — he would not assume personal rule until 1547. The denga circulating under his name during these years was effectively issued under the regency of his mother, Elena Glinskaya, who had already conducted a sweeping monetary reform in 1535 that standardized the Russian wire-cut coinage system and suppressed the clipped and counterfeit pieces flooding Muscovite markets. That reform is why this coin exists in its present form.