Denga - Vasily II the Blind

Vasily II's early coinage predates the catastrophe that defined his reign — his capture by the Mongol khan Ulugh Muhammad in 1445 and the subsequent blinding ordered by his cousin Dmitry Shemyaka in 1446. These dengas were struck during a period of relative stability before decades of internecine conflict among the Muscovite princes repeatedly disrupted mint output. The Moscow denga of this era was produced by individual moneyers working under princely license, a decentralized arrangement that accounts for the considerable die variety found across the type.