Just added to my collection. Although not a coin, it shares great similarity in terms of the bust and some sort of legend on the side. As far as I know, bullae or seal stamps were balls of clay attached to the rope which would be tied around any good or item being traded. Kind of like a postal stamp, but more personalized to the sender as he or she would have a seal ring which would be used to create the impression on the clay. Metal seal rings are common, I have one or two broken ones in my collection, and the precious stone carved seal rings are a bit on the rarer, more costlier end. The bust on this bulla reminds me of the Alchon hun / hepthalite coinage from the Indian subcontinent. That is due to the kind of elongated head shape and facial hair. What do you guys think? Anonymous silver drachm, c. late 4th or early 5th century Bare-headed bust of king right, wearing pearl necklace with double ribbons, "bull" tamgha before, crescent moon above left, Brahmi letter shi (sri?) at left, Bactrian legend at right: alchono / Fire altar, flanked by armed attendants Weight: 3.53 gm, Diameter: 29 mm., Die axis: 3 o'clock Ref: Göbl 43 not my coin credit: coinindia.com
Interesting Object ! visually very attractive. I am a bit concerned though. I took a 5 minute internet search to find a comparable one, here on zeno: https://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=166601 I tried to zoom in a bit on the Brahmi text to see what it reads: Seems like proper Gupta Brahmi script, about late 5th to 7th century AD. An expert read the Zeno piece as "Kuladipa". I would rather read it as "Uladipa". Both of which are not easily interpreted. What also bothers me a bit is that these two objects are clearly stamp identical. Without proper provenance, i would not rule out that this is a modern production, however much i like it as an object.
Ah. So its either that someone has the original seal ring and is making clay stamps out of it. Or this is an original one from the same guy from history. Never the less, a cool looking peice which I didnt pay much for either. Also great internet research skills! Thanks!
