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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 8297787, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1467489[/ATTACH] </p><p>Kushan Kingdom.&nbsp; Kanishka I (c.127-147 AD).&nbsp; AE didrachm (or double unit, or half unit) (8.07 g).&nbsp; Obverse: King standing with trident in left hand and sacrificing over altar with right hand, slightly blundered legend in Greek around &quot;Basileus basileon kaneshkou&quot; (of King of Kings Kanishka).&nbsp; Reverse: Radiate sun god facing left and holding out right hand, tamgha on left, to right Greek legend Elios (Helios).&nbsp; Mitchiner, Ancient and Classical World 3065-69.&nbsp; This coin: Stephen Album Sale 514, lot 514 (2022).</p><p><br /></p><p>Kanishka I or Kanishka the Great (reigned c. 127-147 AD) ruled the Kushan kingdom at the height of its power and extended its rule to its maximum extent, covering much of the northern Indian subcontinent and extending into parts of central Asia and some territory in what is now westernmost China.&nbsp; Here&#039;s a map borrowed from Wikipedia:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1467490[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Kushan coins show a variety of different deities on the reverses, and indicate a highly syncretistic approach to religion, in which gods from different traditions were often combined together or considered to be merely different aspects of the same underlying deity.&nbsp; This coin features the radiate Sun God, and identifies him clearly by his Greek title Helios; later coins of Kanishka also include the radiate Sun God, but now under his Zoroastrian title of Mithra.&nbsp; Coins featuring Indo-Iranian deities seem to be more common, but the inclusion of Greek and also rarer Buddhist reverses may indicate the rulers were attempting to appeal to a diverse group of subjects from different religious traditions.&nbsp; Kanishka himself is known to have favored Buddhism, and he was important in the transmission of Buddhism to China.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Kushan bronze coins have a well-defined series of sizes, of 4, 8, and 16 grams weight.&nbsp; Most writers and dealers seem to consider the 4 gram piece as an AE drachm, and the larger coins thus as didrachms and tetradrachms.&nbsp; I&#039;ve also seen the 4 gram denomination simply referred to as the &quot;unit&quot; (since we don&#039;t know for sure if it was actually called a drachm when it was used), and occasionally the 16 gram coin is considered the fundamental unit.&nbsp; The most common coin seems to be the 16 gram, followed by 4 gram, then 8 gram a bit scarcer than 4 gram.&nbsp; Some deities are very common (Shiva, Mithra, Nana) while others are quite scarce (the several depictions of the Buddha).&nbsp; Finding high-grade examples, even of the common types, is a challenge.&nbsp; I like this coin because it features a scarcer deity (Sun God as Helios rather than Mithra) and the designs and inscriptions are reasonably clear for Kushan bronzes.&nbsp; Please post your Kushan coins, or whatever else is related.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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