WALLACHIA. Mircea I cel Batrân (the Elder), 1386-1394 and 1397-1418. Ducat (Silver, 18 mm, 0.84 g, 6 h). +ⲰBΛИ[...]- В - OЧ Mircea I 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 / O. MBR -. TRD -. Apparently unpublished, of great numismatic interest and beautifully toned. Areas of weakness and some flan faults on the edge, otherwise, very fine.


Within the otherwise well-documented coinage of Mircea I cel Bătrân, grandfather of Vlad III Tzepesh (the Impaler), who is commonly known today as Dracula, this type appears to have been entirely unknown until now. The die combination itself is unpublished: a standing ruler holding a cross-tipped staff on one side and Christ on the other.

Adding to the mystery are the heavily corrupted obverse legend and the two unidentified symbols placed beneath ‘IC – XC’ on the reverse. At first glance, these irregularities might suggest a contemporary imitation or counterfeit. The unusually high silver content and substantial weight of the present specimen, however, argue strongly against such an interpretation. Known contemporary counterfeits of Mircea’s coinage, including those represented in the large hoard discovered at Târgoviște in 1963, were either produced with a base-metal core or struck in silver of markedly reduced fineness.

The present coin therefore remains difficult to place within the established framework of Mircea’s coinage and may represent a previously undocumented and highly unusual issue whose precise nature has yet to be determined.