Celtic, British and World Coins, Numismatic Books

Russia, Novgorod, silver Grivna, 13th-14th century, in the form of a cast, lightly curved bar, 145mm x 15mm x 10mm, 194.98g (Spassky fig. 44). The ‘rough’ side with many cast marks, the smoother side with contemporary test marks and scratches, including six parallel equidistant shallow cuts, good condition, very rare [Plate I] £2,000-2,500

Provenance: Gorny & Mosch Auktion 143 (Munich), 17 October 2005, lot 5742.

Sold with a certificate from the State Historical Museum, Moscow. The word Grivna probably derives from the Russian ‘Griva’ meaning a mane or collar and therefore a necklace or torc which was a form of money in ancient Russia. In the middle ages, Ukraine acted as the clearing house for trade between the West, Russia and Byzantium. The Viking tradition of using silver bars as currency persisted until the mid 15th century. Varied types and standards of European coinage were melted down into high-quality cast ingots. In Novgorod, the weight standard for these was based on half the Carolingian Pound (204g), while the Kievan Grivna was set at four-fifths of this (163g). The Hryvnia has been the official currency of Ukraine since September 1996.