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Studies of Coins of Medieval Volga Bulgaria by Neutron Diffraction and Tomography

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Abstract

The phase composition and spatial distribution of chemical components in the volume of coins of medieval Volga Bulgaria are studied using the neutron-diffraction- and neutron-tomography methods. Two coins belonging to different time periods of this medieval state are studied: a Samanid multidirham dating from the first half of the 10th Century and a silver dirham dating from the period of the reign of the Bulgarian emir Bulat-Timur. It is established that both coins consist of a copper-silver alloy. In the Samanid multidirham, the average volume contents of copper and silver are found to be about 50%. Minor spatial variations in the chemical composition are found in the volume of the multidirham under study. It is established that the volume average silver content in the Bulat-Timur dirham is about 95%.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to A.I. Bugarchev and D.G. Mukhametshin for numismatic identification of the coins, as well as to the Museum of Archeology of the Republic of Tatarstan represented by A.S. Mukhametshina for the presented material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, 420008, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia

    B. A. Bakirov, R. Kh. Khramchenkova, A. V. Belushkin & A. G. Sitdikov

  2. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980, Dubna, Russia

    B. A. Bakirov, S. E. Kichanov, A. V. Belushkin & D. P. Kozlenko

  3. Khalikov Institute of Archeology, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, 420012, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia

    R. Kh. Khramchenkova & A. G. Sitdikov

  4. Dubna State University, 141980, Dubna, Russia

    A. V. Belushkin

Authors
  1. B. A. Bakirov
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  2. S. E. Kichanov
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  3. R. Kh. Khramchenkova
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  4. A. V. Belushkin
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  5. D. P. Kozlenko
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  6. A. G. Sitdikov
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to B. A. Bakirov or S. E. Kichanov.

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Translated by E. Smirnova

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Bakirov, B.A., Kichanov, S.E., Khramchenkova, R.K. et al. Studies of Coins of Medieval Volga Bulgaria by Neutron Diffraction and Tomography. J. Surf. Investig. 14, 376–381 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1027451020020433

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