Second
Bulgarian Empire, Vidin Kingdom, Ivan Stracimir, 1356 - 1397 A.D.
Ivan
Alexander divided
his kingdom between
his two sons. Ivan Stratsimir received Vidin. In 1365, the Hungarian
King Louis I of Anjou captured Vidin. Sratsimir and
his family were held captive in Croatia for four years but in 1369 Sratsimir was
restored to
his throne under Hungarian overlordship. After the
Ottoman invasion in 1388, he was forced to acknowledge
Ottoman overlordship and garrisons. In 1396 Sratsimir and
his subjects aligned themselves with the anti-Ottoman Crusade led by the Hungarian
king Sigismund of
Luxemburg. The crusade ended in disaster at the battle of
Nikopol on 25
Sep 1396. By the end of 1397
Sultan Bayezid I approached Vidin and, assured by the promise of
his safety, Ivan Sratsimir came out to meet him. On the order of Bayezid I, Ivan Sratsimir was arrested and conveyed to Bursa, while the
Sultan confiscated the contents of the Vidin treasury. Sratsimir's
fate is unknown. Vidin was likely annexed by the
Ottoman Empire in 1397, but at least
part of the realm remained under the control of Sratsimir's son and heir
Constantine II.
This
type is described as a half grosch in older references.
ME47140. Silver grosch,
reduced weight; A. Radushev, G. Jecov.
Catalog of the
Bulgarian Medieval Coins. p. 178, 1.14.4;
Moushmov 7542, c. 0.50g, c. 16mm
diameter, Vidin
mint, 1371 - 1376 A.D.;
obverse nimbate half length figure of
Christ, right hand raised in
benediction, book of gospels in left, IC - XC flanking
head,
legend around;
reverse Stracimar enthroned facing,
nimbate,
scepter in right,
mappa in left, lis left and right, rosette between legs,
legend around; VF, typical crude examples with uneven strikes and wavy flans;
Forum's random selection from the same group as the coins in the photograph
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=47140q00.jpg&vpar=1635&zpg=56475&fld=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins2/
