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Denga - Vasily I Dmitriyevich Beast right / Arabic legend imitation
| Issuer | Moscow, Grand principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1400-1412 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Denga (0.005) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field depicts a stylized beast, likely a lion or fantastical quadruped, facing right in a dynamic striding pose, rendered in the crude but vigorous hammered style typical of early Muscovite coinage. The animal's body occupies most of the flan, with exaggerated limbs and tail rendered in low relief. The design reflects the strong influence of Tatar-Mongol artistic traditions on early Russian coinage. The irregular flan edge is characteristic of hand-cut silver wire blanks used in the production of wire money of this period. No border or exergual line is present. |
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| Obverse lettering | ПЕЧАТЬ ВАСИЛИЯ |
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| Additional information |
Vasily I inherited Moscow's minting apparatus from Dmitry Donskoy and continued the practice of placing imitation Tatar legends on the reverse — not as deception, but as a pragmatic acknowledgment of Mongol suzerainty under the Golden Horde. These pseudo-Arabic inscriptions were never meant to be read; they signal political deference to Tatar overlords while the obverse asserted Muscovite identity. The arrangement persisted well into the 15th century precisely because the Horde still expected visual submission on coinage circulating through tributary principalities.