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
Bessarabian bourgeoisie in modern age (Classification, characteristics, evolution)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
In the given article the author defines the bourgeoisie as a social category linked mainly to the urban economy, which has capital and power of decision in capitalist community. The author classifies Bessarabian bourgeoisie of the nineteenth century into four categories:
1. “Economic bourgeoisie” (commercial, usurious, industrial etc.) covers, in fact, those layers that are closely linked to economic activity: the large merchants (the first and second guild), moneylenders, owners of commercial and industrial enterprises etc., which differed from each other not so much in terms of origin and the place they occupy in society, but especially in terms of interests and level of wealth. This social group was formed after the introduction of guild reform in Bessarabia according to the decision of the Governing Senate of 26 September 1830. 2. The second category consisted of state officials. Promoting a national-colonial policy in Bessarabia, tsarism based not only on the small part of local nobility that it could draw to work in various state institutions, but also on foreign element, which consisted mainly of civilian and, especially, military Russian nobility. During the first half of the nineteenth century, when there was an institutional modernization, this layer, ignored by the aristocratic elite, was evolved into the bourgeoisie, and a small part of it was actively involved in economic activities. 3. A special category was formed of people engaged in the intellectual labour, which were representatives of a wide enough range of professions: teachers of different specialties, doctors, lawyers, attorneys, engineers, etc. Characterized by different levels of wages and, respectively, different levels of wealth, this category was also varied and, like the rest, differed only by intellectual training and professional qualification. 4. On the lowest level in the Bessarabian social hierarchy there was “the petty bourgeoisie” (the lower middle class), which brought together representatives of different professions - small traders (the third guild of merchants), artisans of various specialties, owners of grocery stores, inns, coffee shops, and restaurants, chemists, butchers, petty officers, etc. The rapid development of Bessarabia towards capitalism had essentially contributed to social instability of this layer, thus causing their passage up and down the social scale. An example of this is the layer of guild merchants, who were constantly moved from one guild to another and from this social category in the petty bourgeoisie.
Analysing the commercial bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie, the author concludes that the peripheral situation of Bessarabia in the economic and political system of the Russian Empire has determined clearly discriminatory attitude of central authorities towards the region, which was reflected in the restriction of the rights and opportunities for local residents, mostly Moldovans, through the attraction of foreign merchants and traders from the Russian provinces, providing them with various benefits. As a result, the lack of state unity and national independence, political domination and economic exploitation by the Russian Empire directly influenced the genesis of bourgeoisie of Bessarabia. As a result, the bourgeoisie of Bessarabia was established as cosmopolitan social structure consisted largely of alien elements, supported and protected by the imperial administration.
Valentin Tomuleț, Cristina Gherasim
Some considerations on factors that generated mentality shifts of the landlords in Bessarabia under tsarist domination (1812-1817)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Valentin Tomuleț
The numerical dynamic and the social structure of the population of Tabani village, in Hotin county, according to the fiscal censuses in the 1820s-1850s
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Valentin Tomuleț
Historiographical considerations regarding the status of ruptashi in Bessarabia under Tsarist domination (1812-1847)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Valentin Tomuleț
The legal status of călărași in Bessarabia: from Moldovan traditions to the Russian imperial administrative system
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Valentin Tomuleț
Mazili and ruptași (and other social categories) in the statistics of the 1817 census
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XI [XXVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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 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.