The treasure of coins from the vicinity of Harmanli, or On the circulation of coins of Crimean coinage in the medieval Bulgaria

Author(s):  M.M. Choref, candidate of Sciences, associate Professor, Nizhnevartovsk State University, Nizhnevartovsk, Russia, choref@yandex.ru

Issue:  Volume 45, №2

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  The object of study was a small but very interesting treasure found in the vicinity of Harmanli. It consists of 15 coins issued in the XIV–XV centuries. Almost all of them are imported. Most of them were minted in the Crimea: 5 – on behalf of Khan Uzbek and 6 – released in Genoa Kaffe. One coin was minted at Ulu-Muhammed in Haji Tarhan. The imported coins are very worn out. In addition to them, three Otto-man akçe fell into the treasure. They were issued in the name of the sultans Murad I, Mehmed I and Mehmed II. These coins were minted in Amasia and in Kustantinia. We believe that the treasure we stud-ied was not the capital of a merchant or migrant who came from Crimea. Most truly, it represented a part of the booty brought to Bulgaria by the Turk, who participated in the capture of Kaffa. He managed to profit by circulating in her silver coins. And he was hardly an important person. Otherwise, he would not only have worn silver coins. We come to the conclusion that the importation of a foreign coin into the region could then be caused not only by trade ties, but also by the receipt of production. We bring up our conclusion for scientific discussion

Keywords:  history, numismatics, Bulgaria, Crimea, Ottoman period

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