Silver coin hoard found in the outskirts of Moscow may have been buried by a medieval plague victim

A hoard of over 2,600 silver coins from the early 15th century was discovered during rescue excavations in Kolomna, near Moscow. The coins, hidden in a ceramic jug, are the largest such hoard ever found. Researchers theorize the wealthy owner may have died in an epidemic that swept Russia between 1425-1427.

A hoard of over 2,600 silver coins from the early 15th century was discovered during rescue excavations in Kolomna, on the outskirts of Moscow. The Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Archaeology announced the find late last week. The coins, of the pre-1916 denga denomination, were hidden within a small ceramic jug decorated with engobe, buried in a shallow pit near the city's trading district. The plural form of denga, 'dengi,' has become the modern Russian word for 'money.' Many of the coins are dengi of Grand Princes Vasily I Dmitriyevich (1389-1425) and Vasily II Vasilyevich 'the Blind' (1425-1462), with a near-complete absence of coins minted by appanage princes. The large sum suggests the owner was wealthy, likely upper class. As the latest coins date to the second half of the 1420s, researchers theorize the owner may have fallen victim to one of the epidemics that swept Russia between 1425-1427. Notably, a significant number of coins from Dmitriyevich's reign were minted in Kolomna itself and bear the likeness of a flying bird, a rarity in other regions. The hoard includes over 350 previously unknown varieties of Kolomna coins, as well as types absent from museum collections. The hoard also allows identification of the final Kolomna coins issued with the bird's likeness, dating to the end of Dmitriyevich's reign.