In 1804 a minor nobleman named Rydzevsky presented Alexander I with twenty gold "Byzantine" coins that had been found on his land in the town of Pinsk (now western Belarus). Of the twelve coins that were passed to the Hermitage, half proved to be early Russian zlatniki. These coins are so similar in appearance to 10th-century Byzantine ones, that at first they were taken for Byzantine solidi. The zlatniki of Vladimir Sviatoslavich bearing a depiction of the Kievan Prince on his throne and the inscription "Vladimir on the Throne" were struck in Kiev after the adoption of Christianity in 988. They symbolized the birth of an independent state - Kievan Rus' - and its parity with other European realms.The other side of the coin bears a chest-length depiction of Christ.