CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: The Earliest Russian Coins

coinweek.com/ancient-coins/coinweek-ancient-coin-series-the-earliest-russian-coins/

May 16,
2019

CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series by Mike Markowitz …..

SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, RUSSIA’S great rivers have served as trade routes, sending Baltic
amber, luxury furs, beeswax, honey, and slaves southward in exchange for the wine, silver,
silks and fine metalware of the Mediterranean and Islamic civilizations.

About the year 860, Riurik[1] , a legendary Scandinavian adventurer, was invited by
squabbling Slavic tribes around Novgorod to rule over them. His descendants established a
dynasty that built a powerful state with its capital at Kyiv (Kiev) known to modern historians
as Kievan Rus’[2] .

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 Prince Vladimir holding cross in left hand. “ВЛАДИМИРѢ А СЕ ЕГО ЗЛАТО”.: Vladimir and his gold Reverse Jesus
Christ.”ІСУСѢ ХРИСТОСѢ” Diameter 19-24 mm, weight 4.0-4.4 g. Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg.

Beginning about the year 1000, rare issues of Kievan Rus’ were the first Russian coins.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the circulating coinage of Rus’ consisted largely of imported
Islamic silver dirhams, particularly imitations of the coins of the Abbasid caliphate struck
by the Khazars, a Turkic tribe that dominated the Volga steppes. Byzantine coins struck at
Constantinople and Western European silver deniers have also been found in hoards
across the region.

Vladimir I

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 Grand Principality of Kiev. Vladimir I, the Great (980-1015) silver Srebrennik ND UNC – scratch, edge chips, 24mm.
2.22gm. S&S Type I, 12-1 (same dies). Obv.: Enthroned figure of Grand Prince Vladimir in Byzantine-imperial dress with
crown facing, tall cross-topped staff in right hand, pulling left towards chest; trizub to right; legend around reads Vladimir
na stole (“Vladimir on the throne”) in old cyrillic / half figure of Christ Pantocrator facing with nimbus cruciger, wearing
extra curly beard, book of Gospels in left hand held to chest; legend around reads Vladimir, a se yego srebro (“Vladimir,
and this is his silver”).

“In the closing decades of the 10th century occurred, for reasons still unknown, a shortage of
silver or crisis of coinage in the Arabic world. As a result of this the influx of dirhems into the West
ceased. This crisis of coinage in the East prompted Vladimir the Great to begin minting his own
coins… (Zguta, 484)”

In 988, Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr in Ukrainian,) ruler of Kiev, converted to Orthodox

Christianity. Prior to this, the Rus’ ruling elite worshipped the Norse gods, and the Slavic
population had their own pagan deities. Vladimir’s envoys had visited Constantinople and
after attending a service in the famous Hagia Sophia cathedral they reported:

“We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth nor such beauty, and we know
not how to tell of it.”[3]

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 KIEV. Vladimir Sviatoslavich (978-1015), Srebrenik of Type IV, 3.5g, prince enthroned holding cross, ВЛАДИМИРЪ H, rev
trident symbol of Vladimir, А СТОЛЕ А СЕ ЕГО СРЕБРО (“Vladimir is on the throne and this is his silver”), (Sotnikova 168;
cf Sp 32:3). Some cracks to edge of flan as usual, otherwise extremely fine and extremely rare in this condition.

In 989 Vladimir married Anna, sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II, a remarkable honor
for a “barbarian” warlord. One of the most prized prerogatives of kingship was the minting
of gold, and about the year 1000, Vladimir issued a series of gold zlatniki[4] modeled on the
design of contemporary Byzantine coins. One side bears the image and name of Jesus
Christ; the other side depicts the prince in imperial robes with the inscription in Old Church
Slavonic: “Vladimir, and this is his gold.” A stylized bird-like “trident” (trizhub) appears in the
field. The distinctive emblem of the Riurikid dynasty, it has become a national symbol of
Ukraine.

Only 11 examples of this coin are known, all in Russian or Ukrainian museums. If an
authentic new find ever appeared on the international coin market, it would probably
become the object of a ferocious bidding war among Russian (and Ukrainian) oligarchs.

A few hundred examples of Vladimir’s silver srebrenniki[5] are known, in four different types.
Struck in a brittle, poor-quality alloy, they are often found chipped or broken. Type I coins
bear an image of the Prince on the reverse with the inscription “Vladimir on the throne”. The
obverse shows a half-length figure of Christ, inscribed “Vladimir and this is his silver”. A
typical example that brought $6,000 USD in 2018 was resold recently for only $2,800 [6] . A
similar piece went at auction in 2004 for $9,500 against an estimate of $10,000[7] . An
exceptionally complete example of the rare Type IV with minor edge cracks brought £13,000
($20,780) against an estimate of £8-12,000 in a 2013 London auction[8] .

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For his achievement in the Christianization of Russia, Prince Vladimir was made a saint of
the Orthodox Church. A national hero for Russians and Ukrainians, his portrait appears on
the modern Ukrainian 1 hryvnia banknote. An image of the zlatnik was reproduced on a
Soviet 100-ruble gold piece issued in 1988 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of
Vladimir’s conversion.

Yaroslav the Wise

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 Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus’, known as Yaroslav the Wise or Iaroslav the Wise (Old East Slavic: Ꙗрославъ
Володимѣровичъ Мѫдрꙑи [jɪrɐˈslaf ˈmudrɨj]: c. 978 – 20 February 1054) was thrice grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and
Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. Yaroslav’s Christian name was George (Yuri) after Saint
George.

When Vladimir died in 1015, his son Yaroslav was serving as vice-regent at Novgorod, far to
the north. Yaroslav’s handsome coins are much better made and appear to be of better
metal than other issues of Kievan Rus’. Only about 24 examples are known (Pritsak, 114);
none have appeared in recent sales. The obverse design is a bust of St. George, copied
from a Byzantine seal. The reverse bears a version of the dynastic emblem and the
inscription “Yaroslav’s silver”.

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Known as “Yaroslav the Wise” (Yaroslav Mudriy), he ruled Kiev from 1019 to 1054. He
arranged brilliant diplomatic marriages for his daughters: one became the queen of
Hungary; another became queen of France; and a third became queen of Norway.
Yaroslav’s portrait appears on the modern Ukrainian 2 hryvnia banknote, with an image
of his coin in the background.

Sviatopolk

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 Kiev – Sviatopolk I. 1015-1018. Srebrennik (2,14g) enthroned Prince with cross-staff in right-hand Rv: trident with one
arm as a cross. Edge crack. RRR

Known as “Sviatopolk the Accursed“[9] (Sviatopolk Okayanniy, sometimes translated as “the

Damned”), he was probably the eldest son of Vladimir the Great. Upon the death of his
father, he seized the throne and had his brothers, Boris and Gleb, murdered (they were
later canonized as the first martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church). Sviatopolk appears
crowned and enthroned holding a cross-staff on his coins. The reverse is a two-pronged
version of the dynastic emblem, with one prong ending in a cross.

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 Sviatopolk I. 1015-1018 Srebrenik (1,71 g) Enthroned facing figure of Prince Svyatopolk, wearing hat with a cross, and
holding long cross in his right hand, legend around / Two-armed symbol with one arm ending in a cross. .
Sotnikova/Spasski:Typ III.; pierced and broken , RRR

In a recent European auction, a complete example of this type brought over $9,500[10]. A
broken and pierced example (but with a clear portrait) brought over $7,400 in an earlier
sale[11].

Vladimir II

Kievan Rus. Vladimir II Monomakh. 1113-1125. BI Srebrennik (26mm, 2.28 g, 6h). Type III. Vladimir enthroned facing,
holding cross-tipped scepter; throne with curved and jeweled back / Trident. Sotnikova & Spasskij type III; Very rare.

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Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125, Vladimir II Monomakh[12] was a grandson of
Yaroslav the Wise. He adopted his surname from his mother, Anastasia, a relative of the
Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (ruled 1042 – 1055). He married Gytha of
Wessex, daughter of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England (KIA, 1066).

Vladimir was apparently the last ruler of Kievan Rus’ to issue coins. A worn and chipped
example of his debased srebrennik brought $1,201 in a recent auction[13]. Vladimir appears
on the obverse in imperial regalia on an elaborate seat inspired by the design of the throne
of Christ on contemporary Byzantine coins. The reverse bears the dynastic trident emblem.
A different type with a simpler obverse, but possibly in better silver, recently went for $1,300
against an estimate of $2,000 [14].

Mstislav

Kievan Rus. Tmutarakan (Principality). temp. Mstislav Volodimirovich Khrobry (the Brave). Circa 990-1024. AR ‘Miliaresion’
(22mm, 1.63 g, 12h). Imitating a Constantinople mint Miliresion of Basil II Bulgaroktonos. Crowned busts facing, wearing
loros and chlamys, respectively; crowns with pendilia; between, long cross crosslet set on base with three steps; pellet-in-
crescent on shaft / Pseudo-legend in five lines; ornament above. Golenko 1;. VF, toned, typical irregular flan.

The Principality of Tmutarakan was a remote outpost of Kievan Rus’, on the Black Sea
coast across the Kerch Strait from Crimea. Rulers of this region issued crude lightweight
imitations of the current Byzantine silver miliaresion of Basil II (ruled 976-1025). The
obverse bears an elaborate cross between small busts of two rulers; the reverse is a long
inscription in five lines. These imitative coins, struck by Mstislav Khrobry (“The Brave”,
ruled 990-1024), are relatively common. A VF example brought $400 (against an estimate of
500) in a 2014 auction[15].

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The 250 years after c. 1125 are known as the “Coinless Period” in Russian monetary history.
No local coins were issued, and imports of foreign coinage dried up. The economy relied on
a variety of silver ingots (known as grivna) and fur pelts as stores of value and means of
exchange.

The standard reference work on this difficult coinage is Sotnikova and Spassky (1983) in
Russian. It is out of print, but used copies can be found for about $200. An accessible
English language reference, often cited by cataloguers, is Pritsak (1998).

***

Notes
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurik

[2] The apostrophe represents a soft “-y” sound that doesn’t exist in English.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Great#Christianization_of_the_Kievan_Rus’

[4] From the Slavic root word zlato (“gold”).

[5] From the Slavic root word srebro (“silver”).

[6] Heritage Auction 25 April 2019, Lot 31714.

[7] CNG Triton VII, 12 January 2004, Lot 1198.

[8] Baldwin’s Auction 83, 24 September 2013, Lot 4605, realized $20,780

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sviatopolk_I_of_Kiev

[10] H.D. Rauch, Auction 107, 12 November 2018, Lot 2725.

[11] H.D. Rauch, Auction 94, 9 April 2014, Lot 3001.

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_II_Monomakh

[13] CNG Electronic Auction 389, 18 January 2017, Lot 1119.

[14] Triton XX, 10 January 2017, Lot 1364.

[15] CNG 96, 14 May 2014, Lot 1380.

References

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Anderson, M.J. “The Coinage of the Grand Princes of Kiev”, Seaby Coin and Medal Bulletin (July
1963)

Basok, Alexander. “Imitations of 11th Century Byzantine Coins found on the Taman
Peninsula”, Celator 12 (1998)

Feldman, Alex. “Bullion, Barter and Borders in the Rus’ Coinless Period”, Midlands Historical
Review 2. (2018)

Georganteli, Eurydice and Barrie Cook. Encounters: Travel and Money in the Byzantine World.
London (2006)

Martin, Janet. “Kievan Rus’ and Muscovy Under the Riurikids”, Oxford Research Encyclopedia
of Asian History. (2018)

Pevny, Olenka. “Kievan Rus’”, The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine
Era AD 843 – 1261. New York (1997)

Pritsak, Omeljan. The Origin of the Old Rus’ Weights and Monetary System: Two Studies in
Western Eurasian Metrology and Numismatics in the Seventh to Eleventh Centuries. Cambridge,
MA (1998)

Rublev, A. Coins of Kievan Rus’ 988-1018. np. (2016)

Sotnikova, M.P., and I.G. Spasskii. Tysyacheletiye Drevneyshikh Monet Rossii: Svodnyy Katalog
Russkikh Monet X-XI Vekov. (Millennium of Ancient Russian Coins: Comprehensive Catalog of
Russian Coins, 10th – 11th Centuries). Leningrad (1983)

Starodubtsev, G. Yu. “Russkiye monety poslednei chetverti X – pervoi poloviny XI vv. i

denezhnoye obrascheniye domongol’skiy Rus’ (Russian coins from the last quarter of the
10th to the first half o the 11th centuries and monetary circulation in pre-Mongol Rus’)”,
Stratum plus 6 (2014)

Zguta, Russell. “Kievan Coinage”, Slavonic and East European Review 53 (1975)

Zhirohov, Mikhail and David Nicolle. The Khazars: A Judeo-Turkish Empire on the Steppes, 7th –
11th Centuries AD. Oxford (2019).

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