Wire Money - Early Russian Hammered Silver Coins, circa 15th-18th Centuries

Coin Denominations Shown: Kopek, Sword Kopeck, Denga and Polushka

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Denga, Ivan III	Denga, Ivan III	Denga, Vasiliy III

Denga, Vasiliy III	Polushka	Denga, Ivan IV

Sword Kopek, Ivan IV	Sword Kopek, Ivan IV

This photo gallery shows the early Russian silver coins called "Wire Money" that were hammered at the Novgorod, Pskov, Tver and Moscow mints in Russia during the reigns of a few Russian rulers (not all!). The dates of the coins range from 1479 to 1701.

Each image is accompanied with a description of the coin's design, that includes the moneyer's marks on the coin's obverse, and a transcription of the cyrillic script in a legend on the coin's reverse, the same way it is done in the catalogue. The depicted wire coins might lack certain details of their design due to the flaws in the crude method of their production, which is described here.

Time Periods of Coins Shown:

1479-1505 (Tsar Ivan III Vasilievich)
1505-1533 (Tsar Vasiliy III Ivanovich)
1533-1584 (Tsar Ivan IV Vasiljevich (Ivan The Terrible))
1606-1610 (Tsar Vasiliy Ivanovich Shuisky)
1613-1645 (Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov)
1689-1725 (Tsar Peter I Alekseevich - Peter The Great)

Mints:

Moscow
Novgorod
Pskov
Tver'

Face-Values of Coins Produced after Monetary Reform 1535-1538:

1 Kopek ("Novgorodka") =
2 Dengas ("Moskovkas") =
4 Polushkas

Coin Weights (1535-1608):

1 Kopek: 0.68g
1 Denga: 0.34g
1 Polushka: 0.17g

Current prices for Wire Money range from $1 to $6 per coin in Extremely Fine condition at the East-European internet auctions.

Last Updated in 2009

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