THE NEW YORK SALE

Auction 50  –  17 January 2020

THE NEW YORK SALE, Auction 50

Russian Coins, Banknotes, Orders and Medals

Fr, 17.01.2020, from 1:00 AM CET
The auction is closed.

Description

Early Kievan. Torque (Hoop Necklace) Grivna.
Ca. Late 10th-11th century. 107.82 gm. 8 ½” diameter. Twist rod body, tapered ends. Broken or deliberately cut in half in antiquity. Extremely fine

Kievan Rus' Old Rus’ Coinless Period, 11th-14th Century The long “coinless period” of Russia from the 11th to the first half of the 14th Century is evidenced by silver payment bars. With the lack of any coin issues, these bars became the only form of silver in circulation in Rus’. Because of their large size, they could be used only for large payments, tribute, ransom, in foreign trade or investments in convents and monasteries. Several varieties of silver bars exist, named for the place of their discovery and circulating region: Kievan, Chernigovian, Novgorodian, Lithuanian and Tartar bars. The inscriptions scratched on them by their owners – graffiti –are of great scientific interest. In written sources, the silver bars are called “grivnas of silver”; while from the second half of the 13th Century, Novgorodian bars were titled “Roubles” – later the title of the principal monetary unit of Russia.

The word “Grivna” in Old Slavonic means a bracelet or hoop necklace. Such necklaces (torques) have been worn since ancient times – as a symbol of wealth and success. Military commanders and rulers commonly awarded them to soldiers who distinguished themselves. The importance and value attached to these torques led to the use of the word grivna as a monetary unit. While there is no direct evidence that torques were used as money, they are well documented in the chronicles of Kievan Rus’ as awards and gifts from princes to their warriors. Additionally, grivna-hoops are found in mixed monetary and silver item hoards (cf. Korzuchina, G.F., “Russian hoards of the 11th-13th centuries”).

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Bidding

Price realized 400 USD
Starting price 400 USD
Estimate 500 USD
The auction is closed.
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