Coin findings from the surroundings of the town of Berestechko: evidence of 1651 battle
Abstract
The article deals with 74 coin findings from the area of one of the largest battle of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648-1657) – the battle of Berestechko (28.06. – 10.07.1651), fought between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army and the allied forces of Zaporozhian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. These include three parcels containing 34, 10 and 19 coins, as well as single findings, stored in private collections. Most of the coins are the issues of the Ottoman Empire, supplemented by a small share of coins of the Crimean Khanate, city of Emden, Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Republic of Ragusa and Tsardom of Russia. Most likely, the majority of these findings belonged to a soldier of Ottoman military unit that participated in the battle of Berestechko on side of Cossack-Tatar army. Since these coins did not circulate in the region where the battle took place (Volhynia), and reflect the monetary circulation of more distant lands, where their owner came from, the circulation in the territory of the European possessions of the Ottomans and vassal Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the mid-17th century has been examined.
Keywords
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising; battle of Berestechko; Ottoman coins; akche.