Archaeologists excavating Kolomna’s historic centre have discovered more than 2,600 medieval silver coins in what researchers describe as the largest intact Russian coin hoard known from the first half of the 15th century.
The find was made during rescue excavations by the Moscow Region expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The expedition is headed by A. V. Engovatova, while M. V. Afonin supervises work at the site.
The coins had been placed inside a small ceramic jug decorated with engobe painting. The vessel was buried in a shallow natural pit in Kolomna’s medieval posad, the settlement located outside the fortified centre and near the Kremlin. The hoard consists of silver dengi, the principal monetary denomination of the period.
Most of the coins were issued during the reigns of Grand Prince Vasily I Dmitrievich, who ruled from 1389 to 1425, and his son Vasily II Vasilyevich, known as Vasily the Dark, who ruled from 1425 to 1462. Coins issued by the grand princes overwhelmingly dominate the assemblage, while money minted by appanage princes is almost entirely absent.
Researchers said this composition may reflect Kolomna’s monetary economy. The city was one of the important centres of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and remained under direct grand-princely control during the 14th and 15th centuries.
The hoard includes numerous silver coins minted in Kolomna during the final years of Vasily I’s reign. These rare coins feature a flying-bird design, and initial examination has identified specimens apparently absent from the collections of Russia’s largest museums. More than 350 varieties have been identified, including previously unknown forms of Kolomna coinage.
Differences in the coins’ die combinations may allow specialists to reconstruct the production sequence at the Kolomna mint over at least 15 years. The assemblage may also help researchers identify the final issues of the bird-design coins, which are believed to have been struck toward the end of Vasily I’s reign.
The latest coins date to the second half of the 1420s, suggesting that the hoard was probably buried during that period. Its size indicates that it belonged to a wealthy person, possibly a senior grand-princely official, local administrator, or prosperous merchant. Researchers have also raised the possibility that the owner died during epidemics affecting cities of medieval Rus’ between 1425 and 1427, but there is no direct evidence identifying the owner or confirming what happened to them.
Because the coins appear to have been concealed together rather than assembled by modern collectors, the hoard offers researchers a snapshot of the currency circulating in and around Kolomna when it was buried.
