#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

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Publications

Library „Tyragetia"

Elena Arcuș-Jantovan

Coins and money circulation in the Principality of Moldavia (1711-1859)

Biblioteca „Tyragetia” XXXVI, Chișinău, 2022, 267 p. ISBN 978-9975-80-903-0; 978-9975-87-985-9.

The monograph “Coins and money circulation in the Principality of Moldavia (1711-1859)” is the first generalized work on the monetary circulation in the Principality of Moldavia from 1711 to 1859. During this period, monetary policy was under the direct control of the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg/Austrian Empire, and the Russian Empire and was a reflection of the interests of the great empires, and the financial system of the Principality mirrored the characteristics of the period when regulations could not be lasting, not being supported by a stable political system. This study containing pertinent arguments and examples from both written sources (various materials from national and foreign archives, narrative sources and documentation) and numismatic ones (hoards and isolated finds), by approaching and interpreting the organization and regulation of money circulation in the period of 1711-1859, makes it possible to outline the general picture of monetary landscape in this region and to coherently integrate the process of monetary circulation in the Principality of Moldavia into the international European monetary system of that time. The work comprises 267 pages, with diagrams, figures, maps and tables.

Contents

Foreword (Sergiu Matveev)

Avant-propos (Georges Depeyrot)

Introduction

1. HISTORIOGRAPHY AND WRITTEN SOURCES

1.1. Historiographical considerations

1.2. Document collections

1.3. Archival collections

1.4. Narrative sources

2. NUMISMATIC SOURCES

2.1. Preliminary information about coin finds

2.2. Hoard finds

2.3. Isolated coin finds

3. ASPECTS OF MONETARY CIRCULATION IN 1711-1859

3.1. Monetary policy context and regulatory framework

3.2. The main determinants of monetary circulation

3.3. Local, but not national issues – Sadagura coins

3.4. Leu – metal coin and settlement currency

CONCLUSIONS

Bibliography

Abbreviations

Abstract

List of illustrations

Abstract (in Russian)

List of illustrations (in Russian)

Glossary

Annexes