WALLACHIA. Vlad II Dracul (the Dragon) or Vlad III Tepes (the Impaler), 1436-1476. Ducat (Silver, 18 mm, 0.84 g, 6 h). +ⲰBΛ - BⲰД Vlad standing facing, holding crude globus cruciger in his left and cross-tipped staff in his right hand. Rev. Christ, nimbate, seated facing on decorated throne and holding book of Gospels with both hands; in field to left and right, IC / B - XC / Λ. Iliescu, Octavian: Ducaţi necunoscuţie emişi de doi voievozi ai Ţării Româneştiîn secolul al XV-lea (SNR 1983-1985), p. 269 (Vlad III Tepes). MBR -. Oberländer-Târnoveanu, Ernest: Untangling Ariadne’s Thread: Contributions to the 'Archaeology' of the Romanian Medieval Numismatics. Part II: The Final Stage of Wallachian Coinage, From Michael I to Basarab Laiotă (Cercetări Numismatice, XIX-XX, 2014), type XV.4. TRD - . The second known example. Of great numismatic interest and beautifully toned. Areas of weakness and some flan faults on the edge, otherwise, very fine.


This coin is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic issues in the fifteenth-century coinage of Wallachia. Until now, only a single comparable specimen was known, a heavily worn and damaged coin that has nevertheless remained the subject of lively scholarly debate for decades. First published by Iliescu in the 1980s, it was attributed to none other than Vlad III Țepeș (the Impaler), the historical figure better known as Drăculea (Dracula). In 2014, however, Oberländer-Târnoveanu rejected this attribution and instead assigned the issue to Vlad II Dracul (the Dragon).

The present coin, despite being preserved in far superior condition, still does not allow the question of authorship to be settled with certainty. The legends leave no doubt that the issuing ruler was a Vlad, but they offer no decisive clue as to which Vlad was responsible. Stylistically, the coin unmistakably looks back to the issues of Mircea I cel Bătrân (the Elder, 1386–1394 and 1397–1418). As Mircea's son, Vlad II may very naturally have continued to strike coins in the established style of his father. Yet the same continuity could equally well have extended into the reign of Vlad II's son, Vlad III.

Its exceptional rarity, combined with the unresolved question of whether it was struck under Vlad Dracul or Vlad Dracula, makes this one of the most tantalizing and historically charged issues of late medieval Wallachia - and one that is certain to fuel further scholarly debate.