Catalog
Denga - Vasily I Dmitriyevich Head left / 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Cyrillic |
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| Reverse description | A crude imitation of an Arabic-script legend, loosely modeled after the Shahada inscription found on the reverse of Golden Horde dangs, particularly those of Oz Beg Khan. The pseudo-Arabic characters are rendered in a degenerate, non-readable form by a die-cutter unfamiliar with the Arabic script, producing a decorative rather than legible inscription. The design is distributed across the irregular flan with scattered pellets or dots serving as decorative or die-identification elements in some varieties. The overall execution reflects the Muscovite practice of imitating Tatar coinage types during the period of tribute dependency. |
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| Additional information |
Vasily I inherited Moscow's minting apparatus from Dmitry Donskoy, who had introduced silver coinage to the principality only in the 1380s — itself a consequence of the disruption to Tatar monetary supply following Kulikovo. The Arabic legend on the reverse is not a functional inscription but a visual imitation of Tatar script, almost certainly retained to signal continued tributary legitimacy within the Golden Horde's orbit, even as Moscow's political relationship with Sarai grew increasingly complicated during the Tokhtamysh and Edigei crises of this exact period.