Catalog
Denga - Vasily I Dmitriyevich
| Issuer | Grand Principality of Moscow |
|---|---|
| Year | 1389-1412 |
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| Value | 1 Denga (0.005) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Obverse of this irregularly shaped hammered silver denga depicting a stylized figure, likely a warrior or horseman, rendered in a crude but characteristic medieval Muscovite die-cutting style. The design occupies the central field of the flan, which is notably uneven and partially clipped at the upper edge. The low relief and worn surfaces are consistent with typical circulation wear of early Muscovite coinage. The Cyrillic legend КНЯЗЬ ВАСИЛЕЙ (Prince Vasily) is associated with this face, though legibility is limited due to the irregular flan and striking pressure. The overall composition reflects the primitive minting technique common to late 14th- and early 15th-century Russian wire money precursors. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | КНЯЗЬ ВАСИЛЕЙ |
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| Additional information |
Vasily I inherited the Moscow throne in 1389 following his father Dmitry Donskoy's death, and his early coinage reflects the political ambiguity of the period — Moscow had won at Kulikovo in 1380 but remained a Tatar tributary, and the denga coinage of his reign shows this tension in its imitative Mongol-derived designs. The Russian denga as a denomination took its name directly from the Tatar "dänga," and Vasily's issues represent some of the earliest attempts by Moscow's moneyers to assert a distinct local identity within that borrowed framework.