TYPE Medieval Serbia, Czar Stefan Uros IV Dusan (1331-1355), early Cyrillic dinar as Czar DESCRIPTION . Obv: Dusan crowned and in loros facing on lowback throne, holding cruciform scepter, Latin legend +STEFAN INPERATO Rev: Christ in glory, holding Book of Gospels, stars to sides; weak square Bulgarian countermark in center REFERENCE: J 50, Jov 11-18 GRADING: F, gray toning, weak square Bulgarian c/m, very rare ORDER INFO: S1499, $220 It is not immediately clear why this interesting type is now very rare; it is conjectured to be an early imperial issue (ca. 1346), possibly the first one with Latin legends; it followed closely the "coronation" type, which - though prized for its appearance - survives in some quantity in Serbian hoards today. Virtually all surviving specimens, rare as they are, are found in hoards near the Danube delta area (Dobrudja), where they moved with eastward commerce, and - though typically clipped and/or countermarked to fit the monetary system of the contemporaneous Bulgarian state - escaped the melting fate and entered local circulation.