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 AD 1478, Moscow conquered Novgorod, thereby definitively terminating its history as an autonomous republic.

物件編號: A44

年代: 公元 12-14 世紀

材料: 銀

重量: 98.26 g

來源: 比利時 Jean Elsen & ses Fils拍賣 2023

此長方形棒狀銀錠為公元12-14世紀之際，在基輔羅斯的北方屬地：諾夫哥羅德共和國流通的½赫里夫尼亞(Полтина)銀錠。赫里夫尼亞(гривна)為廣泛流通於基輔羅斯各公國的貨幣單位，該銀錠的稱呼Полтина直譯為俄語，即一半之意。不同於基輔的六邊形，諾夫哥羅德生產的羅德格里夫納為長方形棒狀，平均重量約為198克，其重量比基輔(160克)稍來得沉重。

作為羅斯大平原的北部心臟地帶，諾夫哥羅德一直是羅斯北方的政治、文化和商業領頭羊，其轄境北達北冰洋，西到芬蘭卡累利阿，東抵烏拉山以東。但遠離政治中心基輔的地理條件，使得歷代王公後裔不願到此任職。

為了應付這個情況，公元1136年，基輔羅斯賦予諾夫哥羅德自治地位，使得商人組成的議會主導城市的運作。商人們更以比鄰波羅的海的優勢，加入發跡於今德國一帶的商業聯盟「漢薩同盟」。

作為歐洲貴族趨之若鶩的奢侈品皮草的集散地，諾夫哥羅德成為漢薩同盟的四大商站之一，其繁榮未被公元13世紀入侵的金帳汗國打斷，甚至在蒙古人的允許下達到高峰。但這樣的榮景隨著公元15世紀專制的莫斯科大公國崛起，並在公元1478年征服諾夫哥羅德，徹底終結其自治和共和國的歷史。