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Dirham 'Flying duck and bows type' - anepigraphic Bulghar mint
| Issuer | Golden Horde |
|---|---|
| Year | 1280-1310 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Dirham / Dang / Yarmag (0.7) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A stylised flying duck depicted in profile with spread wings occupies the central field, rendered in the bold, schematic manner typical of early Golden Horde Bulghar mint coinage. The bird is shown in mid-flight with clearly articulated wing feathers indicated by incised lines. The motif is enclosed within a double dotted border that frames the entire design. The field surrounding the duck is plain and devoid of any inscription, affirming the anepigraphic character of this emission. The irregular flan and variable module are consistent with hammered production at the Bulghar mint during the late thirteenth to early fourteenth century. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Bulghar (Bulgar on the Volga) |
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| Additional information |
Anepigraphic issues from the Golden Horde are genuinely unusual — the absence of inscriptions on a Muslim polity's silver coinage cuts against the dominant convention of the period, where Quranic text and ruler titulature were near-universal on struck silver. The "flying duck and bows" type belongs to a group of Bulghar mint issues that appear to draw on pre-Islamic Volga Bulgarian iconographic traditions, suggesting local workshops retained meaningful autonomy over design choices even as Mongol administrative authority tightened through the late 13th century.
At 1.3g, these are notably underweight against the contemporary Horde dirham standard, a reduction consistent with the monetary fragmentation documented across the western steppe during the succession conflicts following Möngke Temür's death in 1280.