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
Copper Age burials with “extended” skeletons in the Carpathian-Dniester region
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
In the article the problem of cultural and chronological attribution of Copper Age graves with skeletons in extended position is discussed. Due to the almost complete absence of grave inventory in the burials the most reliable attribute for analysis is the shape of the grave chambers in combination with other elements (stratigraphic position, orientation of the dead, few items of grave goods, etc.). Three basic forms of chambers are distinguished: large oval pits, long narrow pits, and large rectangular pits. Graves with large oval pits posses the most archaic traits and probably can be recognized as the most ancient Copper Age contexts under barrows. The earliest graves can be dated to the second half of the 5th Millennium BC although all graves under barrows are, so far, dated from the 4th Millennium BC. The graves from this group in barrows always precede burials of the Pit-grave culture and some- times burials of the late Copper Age Usatovo culture. In some barrows they can follow other Copper Age graves. The graves in long narrow pits seem to be later and, according to kurgan stratigraphy, always precede graves of the Pit- grave culture, but sometimes follow late Copper Age graves or burials of the Usatovo culture. The extended graves in large rectangular chambers can be considered as a variant within the funeral tradition of the Pit-grave culture. Distinctions between the groups under consideration can be conditioned by their different origins. Whereas the graves from the first group can represent the development of a local tradition related to the Balkan-Carpathian cultural milieu, the graves from the second group can reflect connection with eastern European cultures. At the same time the graves from the third group are related to the Pit-grave culture.
Игорь Манзура
Дергачев В.А. О скипетрах. Этюды в защиту миграционной концепции М. Гимбутас. Revista arheologică. vol. I. Nr. 2. Chișinău, 2005, 166 стр. ISSN 1857-016X.
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Игорь Манзура, Владислав Петренко
The Usatovo kurgan cemetery II (excavation 1984)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVI [XXXI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2022
Николай Руссев, Михаил Фокеев, Игорь Манзура
Barrow of the Copper and Bronze Ages near the Village of Suvorovo, Odessa County
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
