Imitation of Jani Beg Khan Dirham - Vladimir Olgerdovich First issue - first half of the 1370s

Lithuanian authority in Kyiv was established shortly after 1363. The city was transferred to Vladimir, the son of Algirdas. The first coins minted in the Principality of Kyiv under his rule were local imitations of the Jochid dangs of Jani Beg Khan. Commencing local emissions with imitations is characteristic of several principalities that directly bordered the Ulus of Jochi; however, Kyiv's imitations were fortunate—they are better researched than others due to their comparative abundance and distinctive stylistic features. Two types of Jani Beg's Jochid coins served as prototypes for them: the obverse was copied from the Sarai dang of the 746–748 AH pattern (1345–1348), and the reverse was copied from the Gulistan dang of the 752–753 AH pattern (1351–1353). Even the earliest Kyiv imitations were executed very carefully. They maintained their style and minting quality until the very last emissions.

The production process of these imitations was most likely continuous, but for their systematization, several groups can be distinguished, uniting them by weight parameters, external appearance, and in some cases, via die links. The imitations of the obverses went through 6 stages of simplification:

The design of the reverse does not possess such an obvious element for simplification; therefore, at first glance, only two stages can be identified for it—at the second stage, the "small squares" at the ends of the first and third lines of the imitation disappear, leaving only a "palisade" (paling). Both the obverse and reverse are reflected mirror-wise relative to each other at almost every stage—apparently, not all mint masters realized that to obtain a positive image on a coin, the image must be engraved as a negative on the die.

The typical weight for coins of the 1st Issue is between 1.08 and 1.36 grams.

All coin types according to https://numista.com/L104066

6121A weight 1.28

6121B weight 1.37

6121C weight 1.36

6121D weight 1.23

6122A weight 1.3