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MOLDAVIA. Ioan Iacob Heraclid (Jacob Heraclides). 1561-1563. AR Dinar (15mm, 0.23 g, 10h). Suceava mint. Dated 1563 M S. Coat-of-arms / Madonna seated facing, holding infant Christ; M S flanking. MBR 790. VF.
Iacob Heraclid was a professional charlatan who captured the imagination of many powerful figures across Europe, ultimately gaining a throne through them. An ethnic Greek, his exact place of birth is uncertain because he repeatedly forged his genealogy. He quickly ingratiated himself with Protestant rulers, accepting a vague and undefined form of Protestantism himself. He served as a soldier in the army of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1554-1555.
At Vilnius, he met deposed Moldavian boyars and formulated a plan to take control of Moldavia justified by a forged genealogical connection. In November of 1561, he gathered a large mercenary force and took control of the capital, Suceava. He then embarked on a plan to make Moldavia a center of Protestant learning by establishing a Calvinist seminary in Cotnari. Despite his Protestant faith, he performed the duties of a standard Orthodox monarch, though this was broken by actions like appropriating monastic treasures and turning them into coinage. Territorially, Heraclid planned to unify Transylvania and Wallachia with Moldavia and assist the Habsburgs to achieve full control of Eastern Hungary.
He ultimately met his end in 1563 through a complicated series of events that involved the Zaporizhian Hetman Dmytro Vyshnevetsky invading Moldavia, who was defeated by a rival Moldavian claimant, Ștefan Tomșa, who in turn besieged Suceava for three months. By rashly killing the leader of his infantry who he thought was inciting a revolt, Heraclid incited a real one, which forced his hand into surrender on November 5, 1563. After he stepped out of the citadel, he was promptly killed, possibly by Ștefan Tomșa himself. Heraclid’s dinars specifically resemble the Hungarian Hunyadi dinars of earlier centuries, down to the raven on the coat-of-arms.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Four – Lot 889-1124 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 19 May 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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