Horseman right, holding a sword, Cyrillic circular legend КИАZЬ ВЕЛНКН ВАСНЛЕI ("Grand Duke Vasiliy") / Three knotted decorations, arabic "al-Sultan Tokhtamish Khan khalad..." ("Sultan Tokhtamish Khan, (may his rule) endure"). 17mmx14mm, 1.00 grams. Moscow mint, struck in the 1390s. Guletsky/Petrunin #138C.

Very rare early Russian coin - it is rated R3 in Guletsky/Petrunin. Interestingly, the reverse references the Mongol overlord of Russian, Khan Tokhtamish.

Ex-Gorny and Mosch (without ticket).

Vasiliy I of Moscow (r. 1389–1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir and a key figure in the consolidation of Russian lands in the late medieval period. The son of Dmitry Donskoy, he inherited a strengthened principality and pursued a largely diplomatic strategy to expand Moscow’s influence, securing control over territories such as Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, and parts of Novgorod’s lands. Vasiliy maintained relatively stable relations with the Golden Horde, continuing to pay tribute while avoiding major conflicts, and strengthened ties with Lithuania through his marriage to Sophia of Lithuania. His reign brought internal stability and territorial growth, laying important groundwork for Moscow’s eventual dominance under his successors.