Archaeologists excavating the historic centre of Kolomna have uncovered more than 2,600 medieval silver coins in what researchers describe as the largest intact Russian coin hoard known from the first half of the 15th century.
The discovery was made during rescue excavations carried out by the Moscow Region expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The expedition is headed by A. V. Engovatova, with M. V. Afonin supervising the work at the site.
The coins were found packed inside a small ceramic jug decorated with engobe painting. Its owner had buried the vessel in a shallow natural pit in Kolomna's medieval posad, or settlement outside the fortified centre, close to the Kremlin.
Inside were more than 2,600 silver dengi, the principal monetary denomination of the period. The scale and preservation of the find give archaeologists an unusually detailed picture of the money circulating in and around Kolomna during the 1420s.
Coins of Moscow's Grand Princes
Most of the hoard consists of coins issued during the reigns of Grand Prince Vasily I Dmitrievich, who ruled from 1389 to 1425, and his son Vasily II Vasilyevich, known as Vasily the Dark, who reigned from 1425 to 1462.
Vasily I was the son of Dmitry Donskoy, one of medieval Russia's most prominent rulers.
Researchers said coins issued by the grand princes overwhelmingly dominate the assemblage, while money minted by appanage princes is almost entirely absent. The composition may reflect the distinctive monetary economy of Kolomna, which was one of the most important centres of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and remained under direct grand-princely control during the 14th and 15th centuries.
After Moscow itself, Kolomna was among the principality's most significant cities.
Rare Locally Minted Coins
Among the most important discoveries are numerous silver coins struck in Kolomna itself during the final years of Vasily I's reign.
These distinctive coins depict a flying bird and are exceptionally rare in hoards discovered elsewhere.
Initial examination has already identified extremely rare specimens that are apparently absent from the numismatic collections of Russia's largest museums. Researchers have also found previously unknown varieties of Kolomna coinage.
More than 350 varieties have now been identified within the hoard.
The sheer number of locally minted coins is particularly valuable to numismatists because many were produced using different pairs of dies, distinguishable through small variations in their designs.
By tracing connections between those dies, specialists may be able to reconstruct the sequence in which different coins were produced at the Kolomna mint over a period of at least 15 years.
The hoard could also help researchers identify the final issues of Kolomna's bird-design coins, believed to have been struck towards the end of Vasily I's reign.
A Fortune Buried in the 1420s
The size of the cache suggests that its owner was a wealthy member of medieval society.
Researchers believe the money may have belonged to a senior official serving the grand prince, an administrator exercising local authority, or a prosperous merchant. Whoever accumulated the silver possessed a substantial fortune by the standards of the period.
The latest coins found in the jug were issued by Vasily II during the second half of the 1420s, providing archaeologists with an important clue as to when the treasure was hidden.
Researchers therefore believe the hoard was probably buried during that period and never recovered.
Its disappearance may have coincided with a particularly difficult chapter in the region's history. Epidemics swept through the cities of medieval Rus' between 1425 and 1427, and archaeologists have raised the possibility that the owner died during one of those outbreaks before being able to retrieve the money.
There is no direct evidence identifying the owner or proving what happened to them, however.
A Snapshot of Medieval Russian Money
Beyond the mystery surrounding its owner, the Kolomna discovery could become an important resource for understanding the economy of the early 15th-century Grand Duchy of Moscow.
Because the coins appear to have been concealed together as a single assemblage rather than accumulated through modern collecting, researchers can study them as a snapshot of the currency circulating at the moment the hoard was buried.
Sources : Russian Academy of Sciences