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Title	Romania, Wallachia, Mircea the Old, AR Ducat, 1386-1418 AD
Obverse	Man Holding a Spear and Globus Cruciger
Reverse	Eagle Atop a Helm and Shield
Type/Denomination	AR Ducat
Origin	Wallachia
Period	1386-1418 AD
Description	This silver ducat was minted during the reign of Mircea the Old of Wallachia, 1386-1418 AD. The obverse of this coin shows a man standing with a spear and globus cruciger, and the reverse shows an eagle atop a helm and shield. Mircea the Old was the grandfather of Vlad III Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), commonly known as Dracula. It is believed that coins minted during Mircea's reign were still in circulation and used during the rule of Vlad III, as Vlad minted little, if any, coins during his reign. During Mircea the Old's rule, he fought invasion from the Turks, who were sweeping across Europe at this time. Though he was fairly successful in holding them off, he did end by paying tribute to the Turks in order to keep Wallachia (part of modern day Romania) independent and self-ruled.
Publisher	Hillsdale College
Donor	Alwin C. Carus
Collection	Medieval
Accession Number	20051107

Romania, Wallachia, Mircea the Old, AR Ducat, 1386-1418 AD

Description