Russia (Ryazan), AR Denga, Ivan Feodorovich, 1427–1456 AU/AU

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Obv: Tamgha
Rev: Square

Russia / Grand Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan Grand Prince Ivan Feodorovich (1427–1456) Denga – A Fine Numismatic Piece

Introduction
Offered here is a silver denga of the Grand Principality of Ryazan, struck for Grand Prince Ivan Feodorovich (1427–1456), grandson of the famous Oleg Ivanovich of Ryazan. It weighs 0.91 g and is in AU/AU condition. The dengas of Ivan Feodorovich are the first Ryazan coins with a Russian-language legend naming the prince, and this piece, with its characterful irregular flan and clear tamgha, is a typical and attractive representative of the type.

Description
The obverse bears the Ryazan tamgha, punched slightly to the left of centre: two curling horns with round pellets above a rounded lower part, the sign usually read as a ram's head; traces of letters are visible at the right edge. The reverse has the characteristic square frame with an empty centre, framed by the princely title КНЯЗЬ ВЕЛИКИ ИВАНЪ Ф(ЕДОРОВИЧ), "Grand Prince Ivan F(eodorovich)"; on this specimen the letters along the left side and below the square stand out clearly. Struck by hand on an irregular, angular flan, the coin shows a well-impressed tamgha and pleasant silver surfaces.

Historical Context
Ryazan, on the middle Oka, was one of the great Russian principalities of the later Middle Ages, lying on the exposed frontier with the steppe and the Golden Horde. Ivan Feodorovich came to power in the 1420s, when the minority of Vasily II weakened Moscow. Around 1427–1430 he placed himself under the protection of Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, giving up Tula and other border places. After Vytautas died in 1430, Ryazan turned back towards Moscow; during the war between Vasily II and his uncle Yury of Galich the prince made treaties with both sides, and in 1447 he formally recognised Vasily II as his "elder brother". Shortly before his death in 1456 he took monastic vows and entrusted his young son Vasily to the Grand Prince of Moscow, a step that prepared Ryazan's gradual absorption into the Muscovite state.

Numismatic Details
Denomination: denga. Mint: Ryazan. Authority: Grand Prince Ivan Feodorovich (1427–1456). Reference: -. Weight: 0.91 g. Condition: AU/AU. Earlier Ryazan coinage consisted largely of countermarked imitations of Golden Horde dirhams; under Ivan Feodorovich the coin type changed to a purely Russian design, while the tamgha countermark was retained as the link with the older issues. The weight of his dengas is generally given as about 0.9–1.05 g; at 0.91 g this coin lies in the lower part of that range.

Cultural and Political Symbolism
The coin brings together two traditions: the tamgha, a sign of steppe origin that had become the emblem of the Ryazan princes, and a Russian legend proclaiming the title "Grand Prince". The empty square on the reverse was evidently designed to receive the tamgha punched from the other side, which suggests that the sign had a heraldic rather than a merely technical meaning. At a time when Ryazan was balancing between Moscow, Lithuania and the Horde, its coinage was a clear statement of the prince's own sovereign rank.

Conclusion
This Ryazan denga of Ivan Feodorovich is a pleasing, well-preserved example of fifteenth-century Russian princely coinage, with a clear tamgha and a bold section of the princely title. It is a fine choice for any collection of medieval Russian coins.

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