Horseman right, carrying a falcon // КИZZЬ ВЕЛИКН ВАСHEЛЕ in a number of lines.. 13mm, 0.53 grams. Mint of Nizhniy Novgorod (Lower Novgorod) under Moscow occupation, struck 1428-1431. Guletsky/Petrunin/Fishman #2021.

Interesting and rare crude type, much nicer than this crude issue usually is.

Vasiliy II of Moscow, known as “the Blind” (r. 1425–1462), was Grand Prince of Moscow during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. His reign was dominated by a prolonged civil war against rival princes, most notably his uncle Yury of Zvenigorod and cousins Vasiliy Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka, over succession rights. In 1446, Vasiliy was captured by Shemyaka and blinded, yet he remarkably regained the throne with strong backing from the Church and loyal boyars. Despite internal strife and external pressure from the Kazan Khanate, his eventual victory reinforced the principle of hereditary succession and strengthened Moscow’s political institutions. Vasiliy II’s reign paved the way for the centralizing policies of his son, Ivan III, under whom Moscow emerged as a dominant Russian power.