Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Gediminas (1316–1341). Lithuanian long (Lithuanian kapa) without cut marks 13-14th century, EXTREMELY RARE

Country: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Denomination: Lithuanian long (Lithuanian kapa)
Year: 13-14th century
Quality: XF
Metal: Silver
Weight: 107,44 g
Length 118.61 mm
Rarity: Extremely Rare
Literature: Ivanauskas type 1G1
Description: The monetary system in Lithuania was formed in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. In the exchange of goods, settlements were usually made in silver ingots and coins from other countries.
In Lithuania, coins were usually melted into silver ingots, from which the first Lithuanian money – Lithuanian longs (Lithuanian kapa) - emerged. The cut marks in the ingot were intended to determine the quality of silver. The Scandinavian mark was taken as the basis for the weight of silver ingots in the form of a semicircular rod. Half a mark (104 g) constituted the average weight of Lithuanian longs (Lithuanian kapa).
Elongated silver ingots were widespread throughout the region inhabited by the Baltic tribes from the 11th century until the appearance of the first coins in the second half of the 14th century. The shape of the rod was apparently determined by the simplicity of its manufacture and convenience for the user. The simplest way to cast an elongated rod-shaped casting was to make a groove in the ground (clay or sand) and pour the required amount of molten silver into it with a ladle of a certain volume.
Lithuanian long coins were extremely large in value coins (for such a single coin it could be bought 14 sheep or one cow), so they were often broken into smaller pieces in circulation, usually by cutting them in half.
The coins received a common name – Lithuanian longs (Lithuanian kapa).
Several thousand surviving Lithuanian longs (Lithuanian kapa) are now known. Most of them are kept in various museums in Eastern and Northern Europe.
slight surface abrasions.