#Exhibit of the Month

The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457).

The coins were minted from silver of superior title, those that reflect stability in the economic life of the country at that time. Their masterful execution at the Suceava mint is among the beautiful artistic achievements during the reign of Stephen the Great.

During his reign, two types of issues were minted, for the two denominations: groși and half groși.

Type I issues have a split shield on the obverse; in the first quarter appears a rose surmounted by a cross and three fascias, in the second quarter. For the epigraph issues (groși), the image is accompanied by the circular legend with the name of the issuer: + STEFANVS VOIEVODA. On the other side appears the bour's head with a star between the horns accompanied by the heraldic furniture - the rose and the contoured crescent, placed to the right and left of the bour's head; circular legend: MOLDAVIE COIN.

On type II coins in the shield on the obverse appears a patriarchal cross (double) and the legend STEFANVSVOIEVOD or abbreviated STEFANVSVOIE. On the reverse, as in type I, the bour's head with heraldic attributes is preserved: rose right/crescent left and crescent right/rose left. A star or rose appears between the ox's horns. The legend accompanying the face with the bour head is MONETAMOLDAVI or abbreviated MONETAMOLDA.

The dating of Stephen the Great's coins is still under discussion. According to one opinion, type I issues were minted between 1457-1476, and type II between 1480/1481-1505 (Octavian Iliescu), and another 1465/1467-1475/1476 for type I and 1476/1479-1497 for type II (Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu).

The coins in this showcase were discovered during the archaeological excavations at Orheiul Vechi (Trebujeni, Orhei district) in the 6th and 7th decades of the 20th century:

1. Type I money issues, groși, silver
2. Type II money issues, groși, silver
3. Type II coin issue, half groși, silver

Virtual Tour

Publications

Albums

Ana Niculiţă

Ancient Jewelry from the Collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Catalog)

Series “Albums” III, Chişinău, 2018. 296 p. ISBN 978-9975-87-442-7.

This work presents to the reader the valuable historical adornments, familiarizes him with the artistic taste and the high level of craftsmanship of their creators, giving him the opportunity to take a journey in the depths of the ages to make an imagination of both the material world and the spiritual life of people of bygone eras.

The work Ancient Jewelry from the Collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Catalog) comprises a collection of over 2 thousand ornaments and objects of toreutics made of gold and silver, mostly discovered during the archaeological investigations in different types of sites dating from the Eneolithic to the late Middle Ages located on the present territory of the Republic of Moldova. Much of the items come from randomly discovered hoards of jewelry or hoards consisting of artifacts and coins.

The work includes three main parts.

The first chapter describes the objects of jewelry and toreutics discovered at archaeological sites of different historical periods.

The next chapter presents the hoards of ornaments or of artifacts and coins.

The objects are presented according to the following categories: adornments (earrings, temporal rings, rings, torcs, necklaces), clothing accessories (sewn-on plaques for headwear and clothing, buttons, fibulae), objects of toreutics (parts of horse harness, phalerae, scepter clips). A general characterization of the relevant historical period is also provided, complemented by information on the technique of manufacturing items. Each archaeological site is marked on a map corresponding to the historical period to which the artifacts are attributed.

The third part, the most significant, is the Catalog. Each object, or group of objects, is illustrated in color, for some items, details of the ornament, manufacturing techniques and other data are presented. For each artifact (or artifacts in the same category), there are given the name, type, place of discovery and type of archaeological site, the finder and the year of finding, the brief description: the metal of which the object is made (gold, silver), the metal purity, weight, dimensions, chronological framework, place of storage and inventory number, and selective bibliography.