Can anyone help me ID this coin? "Bull and Horseman" was written on the holder along with "900 years old," but I don't see a bull or horseman on it. Anyone know anything about coins like this?
Yes, your coin is a late version of the "bull and horseman" jital and was struck in NW India c. AD 1000+. I have taken the liberty of creating a composite image so that you can more easily understand your coin by comparison with a more complete version on a full flan, dating perhaps 200 years earlier. Your coin is struck on a very small flan and as a result, only a portion of each die is captured. This is typical of the late coins. The left image below is the "bull" side. Your coin captures part of the inscription Sri Samanta Deva and the hump of the bull. On the right is the "horseman". Your coin clearly shows the round rump of the horse and the triangular thigh of the rider. The Samanta Deva coins were originally issued by Hindu Shahi dynasty in the Punjab from about 850 to 1000. Coins like yours are usually described as "post-Shahi" and were issued by unknown Rajput rulers in NW India just before the Muslim conquest. I would catalog your coin as post-Shahi, c. AD 1000+, Tye 35.
Agree with dltsrq, except that the startpost coin is not in the name of Samanta Deva, but of Mahipala , Tye#39
Yes, Mahipala (Mahi Pala). I didn't look at the inscription closely enough. According to Robert Tye, that would also push the date forward a bit, 12th-13th century. John Deyell writes "place and period of rule uncertain, but possibly later than 1266". The British Museum has a couple in their collection which they attribute to Mahipala Deva of the Tomara dynasty, 1103-1128. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG111746 To see the coins, click on "related objects".