The 1998 Novgorod treasure of kufic coins

The paper examines a treasure of Kufic coins found in the Troitsky XIexcavation trench in Novgorod in 1998. Its composition was published before. However,a follow-up study helped specify attribution of several coins. Besides, the examinationof the surface and inscription conditions as well as the metal analysis demonstrated that alldirhams from the treasure were copies of genuine coins cast in bivalve molds. They do notcontain silver and are made of a tin-based alloy, and, therefore, are forged. The informationon the coin issue and distinctive features of their deposition imply that the treasure washidden in 940 and can be interpreted as the coins of a counterfeiter, no similar treasureof Medieval Russia has been found before.