RUSSIA, Kievan Rus. Vladimir I Svyatoslavich the Great. 980-1015. BI Srebrennik (29.5mm, 3.15 g, 12h). Type III. Struck circa 1010-1015. “Vladimir on the throne” (in Cyrillic), Vladimir enthroned facing, holding orb with both hands and cradling cross-scepter in right arm / “And This is His Silver” (in Cyrillic), royal symbol of Rurick. Grierson, Coins of Medieval Europe 120 ; Sotnikova & Spassky 144 var. (legends); cf. Chernetsov pl. I, 3; Spassky fig. 32.2. Toned, deep flan crack. Good VF. Among the finest ever offered at auction.

From the Richard A. Jourdan Collection of Medieval European Coins. Ex Triton IX (10 January 2006), lot 1990.

‘The remoter Slav principalities of the Ukraine were in the Byzantine sphere of influence. Crude imitations of silver miliaresia of Basil II and Constantine VIII (976-1025) were struck on a considerable scale on the Black Sea coast, where they have been found in large numbers at Tmutarakan... Vladimir I of Kiev, on the other hand, struck silver coins (serebrenniki) of which the most unusual type has on one side a seated figure or half figure of the prince and on the other a trident-like object whose meaning has never been satisfactorily explained.’ Grierson, p.57