Gros Coin, Stephen the Great, Type IIa, 1457-1504, silver (classified as Fund)

silver, d=15 mm

0.59 g

Obverse: Aurochs head with a star between its horns, a rosette and crescent on the sides, and the legend in Slavonic " + MONETAMOLDAVIE"

Reverse: Shield with a double cross and anchored ends and the legend "+ STEFANVSVOIEVODA"

DOCUMENTARY DATA

Saint Stephen the Great, canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church, was the longest-reigning ruler of Moldova, considering both medieval Romanian principalities, from 1457 to 1504, for a period of 47 years. The coin emissions attributed to the reign of Saint Stephen the Great are groschen and half-groschen in the Ottoman asper system, a monetary system that continued Petru Aron's monetary reform (1455 - 1457). The coins are of two types: those made of high-quality silver, in relatively small numbers, mainly used to pay for the military service of boyars and mercenaries, and less for commercial exchanges, where payment in coins issued by stronger neighboring states was preferred.