Catalog
Denga - Vasily I Dmitriyevich Beast left / Arabic legend
| Issuer | Moscow, Grand principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | HP II#1358 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A simplified and partially mirrored Kufic (Arabic) inscription is arranged within a square cartouche frame, a design directly derived from contemporary Golden Horde coinage of Toktamysh Khan. The legend, degraded through successive copying by Muscovite die-cutters unfamiliar with Arabic script, reads as a corrupted rendering of the Tatar khan's name and title. The surrounding field is plain, and the overall strike is characteristic of the irregular flan and variable alignment typical of wire-cut hammered issues of this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ن السلطاتو قتاهش خان خلد (Translation: Sultan Toktamysh Khan, may he be immortalized...) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Vasily I ruled Moscow from 1389 to 1425, a period when the principality remained a tributary state of the Golden Horde. The Arabic legends on these dengas were not decorative borrowing — they were a political necessity, mimicking Horde coinage closely enough to satisfy Tatar overlords who controlled the right to mint. The beast type belongs to a broad family of zoomorphic designs circulating across Rus minting centers in this period, each principality developing enough local variation to remain distinguishable to specialists despite the surface similarities.