Mystery Indian Silver Coin - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,442
svnhson Valued Member United States 102 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 2:54 pm Afternoon all! I picked this coin up at a show yesterday and was wondering if anyone could help me attribute it? Thanks very much for any help you can provide? Report this Post to the Staff

Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 3:21 pm My best guess would be an Indo-Sasanian drachm of the Pratihara-Pala Supremacy. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 3:26 pm Various varities for comparison: http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?ph...e=1237844823 http://picclick.ca/North-India-anon...4216269.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces48696.html http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/in...,2215.0.html https://www.cointalk.com/attachment...-jpg.371818/ https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/an...Default.aspx Hopefully Steve (Finn235) will chime in. He's the go-to guy for these Sasanian fire altar derivatives. Edited by Kamnaskires 02/12/2017 3:35 pm Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 4:06 pm You nailed it Bob. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 5:14 pm Not sure of a more specific attribution, though...if one is even possible with these. Here are more: http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/in...ml#msg182789 And a comparison of reverses, OP and linked coin...I struggle with orienting the obverse bust on the OP...so abstract. A postscript: svnhson, I see you're from St. Louis. Hey, neighbor! St. Charles here. Edited by Kamnaskires 02/12/2017 5:40 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 8:37 pm Indeed a coin of the Indo-Sassanian flavor, usually attributed to the Pratihara dynasty. The Palas also made this type, but with a more geometric face and less stylistic characters. (I promise I am working on my guide!) This type was in its day called a dramma, a loan word from the Greek Drachm. They were standardized at about 4 grams and .200 silver for this issue. They are inscribed in Brahmi "Sri Ha" which nobody has been able to attach any significance to, as it simply means "(The Venerable) Mr. H." There are some references out there, but said books are rare and each cost as much as a sizeable collection of these coins. As such, I have been making my own based on what I can observe. If you feel like dropping $80 to order a book from India, check out "Imitations in Continuity" by K.K. Maheshwari. I still don't think said books actually answer the questions of Who, Where, and When for these coins. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 02/12/2017 8:46 pm Finn, you seriously need an Indo-Sasanian avatar already. You're overdue. Report this Post to the Staff
svnhson Valued Member United States 102 Posts	Posted 02/13/2017 02:16 am Thanks very much Bob, echizento, and Finn! I had no idea what this was. Definitely a decent find for a $10 bargain Greek bin! Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 02/13/2017 3:20 pm If you want a little more (free) reading, here is a good article on the political environment of these coins, and why they are usually just lumped as "Pratihara-pala": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri...ite_Struggle There was a great degree of overlap between the empires, and their placement within a sort of "dark age" (i.e. very low socioeconomic stability plus a general lack of historical documents for the period) leads to a general lack of certainty. And just for fun, here is an idea of where your coin fits into the big picture: Prototype: Sassanian drachm of Peroz I: http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=71471 Early Indian imitation; design simplified and legends replaced with pseudo-legends: http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=13407 Middle Indian imitation (Gurjurar or early Pratihara), style significantly simplified, legend "Sri Ha" added in front of portrait: http://goccf.com/t/270348 Yours is a late step in the development of that design; the legend is highly stylized and the portrait degrades to little more than a face, but still maintains some artistic qualities. In parallel, this is what the Palas came up with: http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=125116 Which finally degraded into this: http://goccf.com/t/256134 Report this Post to the Staff
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