Bogdan Constantinescu (1)
and Eugen Nicolae (2)
1. National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Engineering, Bucharest, Romania
2. Archaeological Institute "Vasile Pârvan", Bucharest, RomaniaPârvan", Bucharest
The results of an investigation on some copper coins minted in Eastern parts of Moldavia before the end of the Golden Horde domination in 1369, in the time of the civil war ("the Rival Families") are presented. The numismatists located in this region the so-called Costeşti-Gârla and Şehr al-Cedid issues.
The Costeşti-Gârla issues are characterized by barbarized inscriptions (types I and II) and some of them by a peculiar tamgha representation (type I). They were probably minted in the Oriental towns of Costeşti (South of Chişinău) or Cetatea Albă (nowadays Bjelgorod-Dnestrovskij, in Ukraine), were such coins were found in large number. Their chronology is so far not well established.
The Şehr al-Cedid issues present on the obverse an obscure Arabic inscription and on the reverse an inscription showing that they were minted in the "New Town" (Şehr al-Cedid). As most of the Şehr al-Cedid copper coins were discovered in the ruins of the Oriental town of Orheiul Vechi (Trebujeni, Orhei District, Republic of Moldavia), it is considered that they were minted there. They can be dated c. 1366-1367 or later (till 1369).
The alloy composition was established for two specimens of Costeşti-Gârla I type, two specimens of Costeşti-Gârla II type, and two of Şehr al-Cedid type. For comparison were analyzed two specimens of the common Tatar copper coins attested in local finds: the anonymous "rose type" struck during Canibek's reign (1341-1357) or later, minted in Saray al-Cedid, on the Volga. As a part of the copper coins of the "rose type" found in all the large towns of the Golden Horde are clearly imitations of unknown provenance (or genuine?), three such coins were also analyzed.
Practically, the analyzed coins are high purity (99%) copper coins, excepting the two specimens of the common Tatar copper coins, attested in local finds: the anonymous "rose type" struck during Canibek's reign (1341-1357) or later, minted in Saray al-Cedid, on the Volga, which can be considered as being bronze coins (Cu 94% and 93%, Sn 5% and 6%). The genuine ones are a mixture of copper with a very small quantity of bronze (e.g. Cu 99.5%, Sn 0.15%, with the usual copper impurities, such as lead and silver). The Costeşti-Gârla I type coins are also a mixture of copper (with lead, silver and specifically antimony impurities) with a very small quantity of bronze, and the Costeşti-Gârla II type coins are only copper with lead, silver and antimony. The two coins of Şehr al-Cedid type are similar with Costeşti-Gârla I. Quite likely; the antimony is a fingerprint for the copper source used in Moldova in this period.