MONCASTRO: Genoese Colony, AR asper (0.70g), ca. mid-15th century, cf. Zeno-10037, countermarked cross with a pellet in each corner, on Golden Horde dang of Muhammad Uzbek (1312-1341), struck at Qrim in AH720, unusual early host, VF on Fair host, R, ex Jim Farr Collection. The colony was called Moncastro in Italian but also known as Asprokastron in Greek, Cetatea Alba in Romanian, and Akkerman in Turkish. It was annexed into the Ottoman Empire in 1484 and later became a part of the Russian Empire in 1812. Today it is the Ukrainian city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Estimate: USD 70 - 100