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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,660 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
I'm not even sure where this one came from or if it is even a coin:   |
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Pillar of the Community
Czech Republic
803 Posts |
To my eyes - there isn't a single recognizable part of the design :( Sorry.
~Roman
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2703 Posts |
The abstract design looks Celtic to me. I see a rider on horseback, if you rotate the lower image about 60 degrees clockwise.
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Moderator
Australia
16816 Posts |
It's a base-silver jital from pre-Islamic Afghanistan, sometime in the period 800-1000 AD. The series is called "Bull and Horseman", and were widely copied for several hundred years, the design slowly degrading with time (just like in the Celtic series). They were still being made in the region, even after the Islamic conquest. The top two coins on this page are the ones you're looking for. For your coin, the top picture is the reverse, showing a Hindu bull - the pic is upside down. The bottom pic shows the king on horseback, and "right way up" is about 90 degrees clockwise; the long stroke cutting clear across the coin is the king's spear or staff, and should be vertical. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1295 Posts |
Sap it wouldnt surprise me if you could tell us what the guy who minted it had for lunch :D
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2703 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
Sap it wouldn't surprise me if you could tell us what the guy who minted it had for lunch :D Lol, Lol markn you are probably right
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Pillar of the Community
Czech Republic
803 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1840 Posts |
 Sap, I bow to your superior knowledge . I probably would have spent the rest of my life not knowing what that coin is. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1767 Posts |
quote:
Sap, you are amazing!!
I second that ! ! T r u e l y A m a z I n g ! ! mila_ |
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Moderator
Australia
16816 Posts |
Well, it's easy when you already have a couple in your collection... that were identified for you when you bought them...  Here are mine. This first one is earlier than snowman's one, and the design elements are clearly visible as a horseman and a bull:   This second one is later than snowman's one, and the design has gone even more "Celtic". The gun-shaped thing in the middle of the obverse is the remnants of the horseman's spear and arms, while there's not much left of the bull except for the rump, shoulder-ball and head:   I have a third jital, from even later - it's from the Islamic Ghaznavid dynasty, Lahore mint. It's even blacker, baser silver - I've boosted the contrast on this pic so you can see something. There are two types of jital from this period; one has the remnants of the bull on the reverse (A# 1663), the other has "inscriptions" (A# 1664). I suspect this may be a "bull remnant" type, because I can't make out any inscription there; not in Arabic, anyway:   The Wayne G. Sayles book "Ancient Coin Collecting VI: Non-Classical Cultures" has a page or two covering these coins. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
717 Posts |
" Well, it's easy when you already have a couple in your collection... that were identified for you when you bought them..."
And humble, too!
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Pillar of the Community
Egypt
3470 Posts |
Quick, precise and informative as uusual Sap  Nice coins snowman |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,660 |
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Posted 05/03/2007 5:46 pm
