129, Lot: 439. Estimate $75. Sold for $192. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

RUSSIA, Moldavia & Wallachia. Catherine II, the Great. 1762-1796. Æ Para/3Denga (29mm, 11.58 g, 12h). Sadagura mint. Dated 1772. Crowned coat-of-arms of Moldavia and Wallachia, not garnished; date below / Denomination in square. Bitkin 1255; Uzdenikov 4914; Brekke 10; KM 2.1 (corr.). Good VF, cleaned at one time and re-toning nicely.

During the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774), the Russians, under general P. A. Rumyantzev, pushed the Turks out of the Romanian territories of Moldavia and Wallachia. The contract to supply coinage for the newly conquered districts was awarded to the Polish baron Peter Gartenberg, who established a mint at his new estate of Sadagura ("Garden Mountain" in Russian), striking copper coins of dual denomination, in Turkish Para and Russian Denga. Metal from captured Turkish cannons was used for the coins. The first trial issues utilized imperial Russian symbols, but the regular circulation strikes merely featured the Moldavia and Wallachia arms. Gartenberg's Sadagura mint operated for only four years, closing in 1774.

It should also be noted that the illustrations in KM are incorrect. The photos for KM 2.1 and KM 3, with garnished arms, are rare patterns. The photo for KM 2.2 is of the common variety.