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
Jewish component in the ethnical structure of the commercial bourgeoisie in Bessarabia (1812-1868)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
In the present article the archive data is used to determine the ethnical attribution of the commercial bourgeoisie of Bessarabia in the first half of the 19th century. The author claims that this stratum of Bessarabian society was formed gradually and was ethnically and socially heterogeneous. This heterogeneity was deepened by the Imperial administration which contributed to the formation of the Bessarabian commercial bourgeoisie by implication (26 September 1830) of guild reform and introduction of new commerce policies. Notwithstanding the privileges for a 10 year term to the merchants from Bessarabia granted by the reform which allowed all social strata to start commercial enterprises regardless of the ethnicity, as well as the requirement to declare the capitals in order to be assigned to a commercial guild, the chances of the Moldavians to enroll into the category of the guild merchants were reduced.
Heterogeneous and poorly structured, both ethnically and socially, the commercial bourgeoisie was forced to allow foreign elements in its ranks. The Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Russians, Ukrainians etc., shortly became dominant in the commercial life of Bessarabia.
The proportion of various ethnic groups among guild merchants is worth of attention. The analysis of commercial certificates issued in 1840s - 1860s suggests that the main role in the Bessarabian trade belonged to the Jews. They owned ca. 62% of the total number of the commercial certificates; they were followed by the “Christians”, Armenians and Greeks. Although the Jews played a prominent part in Bessarabian commerce, the wholesale merchants of the first and the second guild were mostly the Greeks, “Christians” and Armenians. The Jews, the second-hand dealers, were involved normally in petty trade. Therefore, the tsarist colonial policy in Bessarabia was obviously aimed at protecting the interests of its own bourgeoisie or its representatives in the region by offering privileges, which eventually lead to a constitution of a distinct social class. The weak national commercial bourgeoisie was distanced (especially due to the commercial activity of the Jews) from the privileged and dominant foreign business.
This politics slowed down the process of formation and constitution of national commercial bourgeoisie, replacing it with foreign settlers.
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
The protests and the revindications of the Bessarabian people in the first decades after the annexation of the territories between the Prut and Dniester rivers to Russia (years 1812-1828)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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, Alexandru Bordian
Priority directions in trade and customs policy of tsarism in Bessarabia in the first third of the 19th century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], 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
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.