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Message:: [QUOTE="dltsrq, post: 2244109, member: 75482"]The only decent source I have been able to find on these coins is in Russian, Zeimal (1983), Drevnie monety Tajikistana. To summarize Zeimal (with the assistance of online translation), these coins belong to the post-Kushan period, following the related Antiochus horse-head imitations. The circulation of the archer coins ended with the Hephthalite conquest of Sogdiana in AD 509, replaced by Sasanian and related coinage. Dating is derived from hoard evidence as well as by the coins naming Kidara (see below) who flourished in the early 4th century. The coins are believed to be fiduciary drachms, over-valued relative to their intrinsic worth and limited in circulation to the region around Samarkand. While some see different denominations, there is no clustering of weight, only a steadily declining module down to about .2 gm by the end of the series. Zeimal divides the archer coins into 4 phases: 1) those with Greek legends derived from ANTIOXOY; 2.) those with Sogdian legends in better style (naming either βγwrty or hprwrnh); 3.) those in cruder style naming kydr (Kidara); and 4.) cruder-style anepigraphic (or nearly so) pieces. The coin which began this thread would be an example of Zeimal's phase 4.[/QUOTE]