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Novgorod Republic
½grivna
諾夫哥羅德共和國
½赫里夫尼亞
Item number: A44
Year: 12th-14th century
Material: Silver
Weight: 98.26 g
Provenance: Jean Elsen & ses Fils 2023
This rectangular bar-shaped silver ingot dates from the 12th to 14th centuries. Designated as the ½ Grivna (Полтина), this particular silver ingot functioned as a circulating currency in the northern territories of Kievan Rus, specifically in the Novgorod Republic. The term “Полтина” directly translates to “half” in Russian, denoting its fractional value. Diverging from the hexagonal ingots produced in Kyiv, the Novgorod-produced Grivna is rectangular in shape, with an average weight of approximately 198 grams, slightly heavier than the Kyiv ingot (160 grams).
As the heartland of the northern Russian Plain, Novgorod had long been the political, cultural, and commercial vanguard of northern Rus, with territories stretching north to the Arctic Ocean, west to Finnish Karelia, and east beyond the Urals. Nevertheless, the geographical remoteness from the political epicenter of Kyiv dissuaded royal progeny from undertaking positions in Novgorod.
To address this, in the year AD 1136, Kievan Rus conferred autonomous status upon Novgorod, enabling a council primarily composed of merchants to govern the city. Leveraging its advantageous proximity to the Baltic Sea, merchants from Novgorod joined the influential commercial alliance known as the Hanseatic League, originating from present-day Germany.
Functioning as a pivotal hub for luxurious fur, highly coveted among European aristocrats, Novgorod emerged as one of the four major trading hubs for the Hanseatic League. Its prosperity continued unabated despite the 13th-century Mongol invasion and reached new heights under Mongol suzerainty. However, this flourishing era came to an end with the rise of the autocratic Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century. In AD1478, Moscow conquered Novgorod, thereby definitively terminating its history as an autonomous republic.