Denga - Vladimir Andreevich

Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov, known as "the Brave," ruled one of the few appanage principalities to mint its own coinage during the fractious post-Kulikovo decades. His participation at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 — where he commanded the decisive ambush force that broke Mamai's army — gave him unusual political leverage within the Muscovite sphere, and his mint operated with a degree of independence that most appanage princes of his generation could not sustain. The denga issues attributable to his reign are among the earliest identifiable silver struck within the broader Moscow tributary system outside the grand-princely mint itself.