Description
Silver coin of tsar Ivan Sratsimir (1352/55-1396)
Obverse: ІW СРАЧИМИР ЧР Б БЛГВР Facing bust of Christ, nimbate, wearing tunic and colobion, right hand raised in benediction, holds Gospels in left.
Reverse: ІW СРАЧИМИР ЧР Б БЛГВР The tsar wearing hemispherical crown, divitision and loros, seated upon throne, holds in right hand scepter and anexikakia in left.
National Archaeological Institute with Museum
Technical parameters
Metal – copper 999/1000 with silver plating, antique finish
Quality – PROOF
Weight – 15 g
Diameter – 34 mm
Packaging – capsule and luxury cardboard packaging
One type of silver and several types of copper coins are known from Ivan Sratsimir (1352/55-1396), who reigned in Vidin for more than thirty years. His silver coinage, distinguished by its artistic workmanship, has been issued for a long time in relatively large amounts thus making them one of the most frequently discovered Medieval Bulgarian coins. Their minting was one of the most important manifestations of the Vidin Tsar to promote his independent power after his establishment in Vidin.
The silver coins of Ivan Sratsimir differ in their iconographic type from the coins of his predecessors. The composition and manner of representation of the ruler on the reverse are similar to the types of some Western European coins as a result of the orientation of the economic and political relations of the Vidin Kingdom to its western neighbours.