Dirham 'Trident Tamgha' - anepigraphic Bulghar mint

The anepigraphic dirhams of the Golden Horde represent a poorly understood transitional phenomenon — coins issued without the Arabic inscriptions that Islamic monetary convention demanded, likely reflecting the administrative reality of a polity whose ruling class remained shamanist or Buddhist well into the late 13th century. The trident tamgha stamped on this piece is a dynastic mark with roots in the Chinggisid tradition, used to assert sovereign authority without appealing to Islamic textual formula.

The Bulghar mint on the middle Volga was one of the earliest and most productive in Golden Horde territory, operating before Sarai eclipsed it as the primary issuing center.