Russian silver wire money coins of Tsar Ivan IV (1547-1584)
WillieBoyd2
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Russia minted interesting money in the old days.
Ivan IV was born in 1530. He became the Grand Prince of Moscow 1533 to 1547 with his mother Elena Glinskaya as regent.
In 1534 she created for Russia the first decimal coinage system by making 100 kopecks equal to 1 rouble. A denga was 1/2 kopeck.
The small kopecks were struck using the "wire money" method where silver wire was cut into pieces, flattened, and struck using dies and a hammer.
The obverse has a horseman holding a sword or lance and the reverse has the Russian titles for the Grand Duke and Tsar.
The horseman holding the lance is either the Tsar or St. George without a dragon.
In 1547 when Ivan was seventeen he was crowned as the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia and continued the practice of minting wire money.
These coins are really small.
Russian wire money coins shown with United States dime
1. Russia Ivan IV Denga
Silver, 11 mm x 9 mm, 0.32 gm, Struck 1535-1547
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding sword.
Reverse:
КНSЬ ВЕЛIКI IВАН (Medieval Russian)
Grand Duke Ivan
2. Russia Ivan IV Denga
Silver, 11 mm x 10 mm, 0.32 gm, Struck 1535-1547
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding sword.
Reverse:
КНSЬ ВЕЛIКI IВАН (Medieval Russian)
Grand Duke Ivan
3. Russia Ivan IV Denga
Silver, 10 mm x 7 mm, 0.33 gm, Struck 1547-1584
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding sword.
Reverse:
ЦРЬ IКHАSЬ ВЕЛIKИ IBAN (Medieval Russian)
Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan
4. Russia Ivan IV Kopek
Silver, 14 mm x 10 mm, 0.58 gm, Mint: Velikiy Novgorod Mint (1547-1584)
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding a lance
Mintmark: АЛ (AL)
Reverse:
ЦРЬИ - ВЕЛIКIИ - КНSЬIBA - НЪВСЕЯ - РУСIИ (Medieval Russian)
Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan of all Rus
5. Russia Ivan IV Kopek
Silver, 13 mm x 12 mm, 0.67 gm, Mint: Velikiy Novgorod Mint (1561-1584)
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding a lance
Mintmark: К ВА (K VA)
Reverse:
ЦРЬИ - ВЕЛIКIИ - КНSЬIBA - НЪВСЕЯ - РУСIИ (Medieval Russian)
Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan of all Rus
6. Russia Ivan IV Kopek
Silver, 13 mm x 13 mm, 0.68 gm, Mint: Velikiy Novgorod Mint (1561-1584)
Obverse:
A man facing right riding a horse and holding a lance
Mintmark: К ВА (K VA)
Reverse:
ЦРЬИ - ВЕЛIКIИ - КНSЬIBA - НЪВСЕЯ - РУСIИ (Medieval Russian)
Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan of all Rus
The 1944 film "Ivan the Terrible" depicts Ivan's coronation ceremony:
During the ceremony two noblemen pour large bowls of coins onto Ivan.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
Comments
Fun little side tidbit about Russian wire money. Wire money was carried in the mouth by poor since they didn't have much and was believed to be the safest place.
One of the most well-known Russian superstitions warns against whistling indoors. According to belief, doing so will "whistle away" your money, leaving you broke.
The two are related.
Cool coins. Hadn’t heard of them. Thanks for sharing!
Yours are very cool. The closest I have is a 17th century mordovka.
Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
I didn't see a match for this one, although similar.
Michael Federovich Pamanov time frame: 1618 to 1633
I can't find an exact match for the O between riders and horses head .
Below the horse is a mm from the Yaroslavsk.
Legend in Russian: Царь и Великий Князь Михаил Фёдорович Всея Руси
Hope this helps.
It helps a lot. Thank you very much. Dave
Do you have a link to this story? I have some wire money....
Try again.....
These are well known facts for collectors of early Russian coinage...
You can google search it? Here's what Google's Gemini says: