The "pul star" countermark — a small punched star applied to existing copper puls — was used across the disintegrating Golden Horde khanate during a period of near-continuous civil war known as the Great Troubles, or Velikaya Zamyatnya, when rival khans were deposing and assassinating one another in rapid succession. Countermarking existing coinage was cheaper and faster than organizing fresh mint production when political authority could evaporate within months.
Attribution of specific star countermarks to individual khans or mints remains genuinely unsettled among specialists.
The "pul star" countermark — a small punched star applied to existing copper puls — was used across the disintegrating Golden Horde khanate during a period of near-continuous civil war known as the Great Troubles, or Velikaya Zamyatnya, when rival khans were deposing and assassinating one another in rapid succession. Countermarking existing coinage was cheaper and faster than organizing fresh mint production when political authority could evaporate within months.
Attribution of specific star countermarks to individual khans or mints remains genuinely unsettled among specialists.