One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.
In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".
Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.
In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.
The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.
Regarding two medieval coin hoards from Florești district, Republic of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Author suggests some clarifications regarding the content of the Mărculești and Băhrinești coin hoards transferred by A.A. Nudelman in 1986 to the holdings of the Archaeology Institute of the Science Academy.
The hoard from Mărculești village, Florești district was acquired by the holdings under the acts № 57 of March 21, 1986 (2465 coins) and № 65 of September 23, 1986 (two more copies), inventory numbers 2064-4530.
Both hoards were described by A. Nudelman in the article “Неизданные монетные клады XVI-XVII вв. из Днестровско-Прутского региона” (Средневековые памятники Днестровско-Прутского междуречья, Кишинёв, 1988, 145-148) in which the author introduces the Mărculești hoard as the Băhrinești hoard and vice versa, thus contradicting the content of the delivery-acceptance acts.
It is also to be pointed out that in the mentioned work the quantity of analyzed coins as well as identification of some issues differs from the coins kept in the holdings of the museum. The author just names the country and the issuer.
The author of the present article researched only the Mărculești hoard coins which had been included in the holdings of the museum and published “Un tezaur monetar gasit in s. Mărculești” (Arheologia Moldovei 18, 1995, 305-309) in order to rule out alternative versions regarding the coins of the mentioned hoards. The work contains a thorough description of the averse and reverse sides of each coin, indicates size and weight, determines mints, and comprises illustrative material.
From our point of view, it is necessary to analyze the Băhrinești hoard coins the same way (at the present time both hoards are kept in the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova).
According to archaeologist V.I. Markevich, the coin hoard was discovered in 1980 near the railroad in the neighbor- hood of Băhrinești village. As a result of 1986 Florești archaeological expedition, A.A. Nudelman transferred 320 coins to the funds of the Archaeology Institute.
In 1990 A.A. Nudelman in the article “Бэхринештский клад и польско-литовские монеты в молдавских тезаврациях” (Нумизматические издания по истории Юго-Восточной Европы, Кишинёв, 1990, 185-203) includes in the scientific turnover fifty nine coins which were placed at his disposal for publication. This lot isn’t part of the above-mentioned Bagrinesti hoard consisting of 320 coins. The Bagrinesti hoard contains small European coins of the 16th-17th centuries: 305 coins are Lithuanian 1/2 groschen minted in Vilno town. The coins have been put in a chronological sequence: Alexander I Jagiello, 1495-1501 – 1 coin; Sigismund I the Old – 3 coins (1510, 1520, 1521); Sigismund II Augustus – 301 1/2 groschen (1546-1567); Świdnica – 1/2 grosch (1523) during Louis II Jagiello reign (1516-1526).
The lot also contains 9 Hungarian dinars minted in Kremnica between 1546 and 1602 by the Habsburg House rulers: Ferdinand I – 4 coins (1545, 1557, 1558, 1563); Maximilian II – 1 coin, 1568; Rudolf II – 3 coins (1585, 1596, 1602); Matyáš II – dinars, 1610.
The hoard also includes 5 schillings: 1 – Poland, the Krakow mint, Stefan Batory, 1580; 1 – Gdansk, Sigismund III, 1532; 1 schilling, Riga, 1601, Sigismund III; 1 – Lithuania, the Vilno mint, Sigismund III, 1621; 1 schilling, Prussia, 1560, Königsberg mint, Albrecht I von Brandenburg reign (1525-1568).
The earliest coin of the hoard dates back to 1495-1501, and the latest coin dates back to 1621.
Анна Никулицэ
Golden and silver adornment objects discovered at the Aeneolithic and Bronze Age monuments (on the materials from the NMAHM collections
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Анна Никулицэ
Silverware and coins from the two medieval hoards
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
