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Message:: [QUOTE="EWC3, post: 3497918, member: 93416"]Ha! Yes! In the late 19th century British collectors in India were keen and sophisticated.  But later, their collections seemed often enough to languish forgotten for generations back in England, until high death duties saw them dumped at auction by distant descendants in the 1960's and 1970's. For instance Plate I #1 in the BM (Rapson) catalogue shows a battered large lead piece, completely flat on one side inscribed “Sri Sata”. Around 1975 I bought the second known specimen, far superior, with a clear reverse (a rather large goddess). GBP 1.50 from a junk box. The coins are old but a new crop of humans turns up every 20 years…………... Or consider the base metal Ghengis Khan issues of Ghazna. Few dies, and thus probably few struck. But in reality common enough today, since the population was probably killed soon after the issue, and the coins just left in the ruins. But still “rare” and selling for GBP 50+ -  Because demand much exceeds supply……. But my main point here is that, for anyone with an objective interest in history itself – it is the common coins that are important, not the rare ones. As I think Auden once wrote ‘A true historian studies coins and weapons’ Rob T[/QUOTE]