Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered more than 2,600 silver coins from the 15th century during rescue excavations in the historical center of Kolomna, RIA Novosti reports.
The treasure was located in a clay jar of local production and had remained untouched underground for about 600 years.
The discovery was made by specialists from the Moscow Region Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, not far from the Kolomna Kremlin. Despite centuries of construction and damage to the cultural layer, evidence of the life of the city in the 14th-15th centuries has been preserved in the lower layers.
The main part of the treasure consists of coins of Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich and his son Vasily II Vasilyevich Mut. According to preliminary data, they were minted in the second and third decades of the 15th century.
Scientists consider the find particularly valuable due to its completeness: all the coins have been preserved together, which will allow reconstructing the monetary circulation and clarifying the features of the coinage of the last years of Vasily I's reign and the first years of Vasily II's reign.
According to experts, the value of the treasure was about 13 rubles. For comparison, in the 15th century, a townhouse could be bought for about 4–6 rubles, and a herd of horses cost about one ruble.
Presumably, the treasure was hidden in 1425–1427, when the plague epidemic was spreading in Russian lands. After the research is completed, the find is planned to be transferred to the Kolomna-Zaraisk State Museum-Reserve.
