Ancient Asian Coins

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Picture of Gadhaiya Paisa

Gadhaiya Paisa

These Billon Silver coins were minted between A.D.1022 and A.D.1135, making them between 900 and 1000 years old! They were created in India by those who fled the Islamic expansion and were based on Sassanian coins showing the side facing bust of the monarch on the obverse and a fire altar on the reverse. As time went by, they started to get less and less realistic as the reason for the designs were lost. This means that the coins we have from around 300 years later are very abstract! The stories of Sinbad the Sailor are based on the sea voyages that Arabic peoples made down across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon and these are the coins that the sailors would have found on their journeys. We offer you these Silver Billon coins called Gadhaiya Paisa that were the major trade coins of medieval India. The obverse shows a stylised head facing to the right with the reverse showing a fire altar made from abstract dots and lines.
£24.95
India_kamargupta_drachm_obv

India, Kamaragupta (414-455 AD), Silver Drachm. GVF

Silver Drachm of Kamaragupta (414-455 AD), Gupta Dynasty, NW India. Good Very Fine condition.
£24.95
Lead_Karshapana_Of_Mulananda_Ca_AD_200_obv

Lead Karshapana Of Mulananda, Ca AD 200

The Chutus ruled a kingdom centred around the city of Banavasi in present-day Karnataka, Southern India, for over two centuries, from around AD 125-345. These coins are struck in lead, belonging to the ruler Mulananda, and struck around AD 200, showing an arched hill with a river motif below on the obverse and a tree within a railed lattice on the reverse. Rather simple but quite beautiful coins which are now over 1800 years old. Very limited supply.
£29.95
Mauryan Dynasty Punchmarked Karshapana_obv

Mauryan Dynasty Punchmarked Karshapana

The Mauryan Dynasty was a vast empire in South Asia founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BC and based in the Magadha, region. The currency at the time was not made using dies but rather blank pieces of metal which were cut to a weight standard and then authenticated using a variety of punch-marks such as bull, elephant, rabbit, sun, tree, peacock, wheel, standing figures etc. The pieces we offer here are cut into various circular, oblong, square or just irregular shapes and are known as Karshapana. The punch-marks are fascinating and would have likely meant something to the people at the time who handled these ‘coins’ on a daily basis. They are some of earliest forms of currency and are now over 2200 years old. Own a fascinating piece of ancient history starting from £24.95 each.
£24.95
Genghis Khan copper coin

Mongolia, Genghis Khan copper coin

Over 800 years old
£14.95
Silver Drachm of Nahapana Very Fine_obv

Silver Drachm of Nahapana Very Fine

Nahapana (meaning ‘protector of the clan’) was an important ruler of the Western Kshatrapas in north-western India who ruled Gujarat, Malwa and northern Konkan. He was descended from the Indo-Scythians and ruled during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Scholars disagree on the exact dates but appear to agree that his reign ended in A.D. 124 when he was finally defeated by Gautamiputra Satakarni and tragically killed along with his entire family. The obverse of the coins bear a profile of the ruler facing right with a Greek legend around. The reverse represents a thunderbolt and an arrow with Brahmi and Kharoshthi legends around. Well struck in good silver with a good portrait and almost complete legends, here we offer these coins in Very Fine. Very attractive and affordable coins which are now around 1900 years old.
£69.50
Vima Takto - The Nameless King Bronze Coin Fine_obv

Vima Takto - The Nameless King Bronze Coin Fine

Vima Takto was a Kushan ruler for about 20 years around A.D. 80-110. He was known as ‘The Nameless King’ or ‘Soter Magus’ for as long as people had been finding his coins because the only words were blundered Greek, ‘Basileu Basileuon Soter Megas’ meaning ‘The King of Kings, Great Saviour’. This all changed in 1993 when the ‘Rabatak Inscriptions’ were found which had been written by his grandson (Kanishka) and named him Vima Takto! We have a group of the Bronze coins of the ‘Nameless King’ in Fine as the group in Very Fine has now sold out! They have the King’s diademed bust on the obverse with the King on horseback on the reverse surrounded by the legend. We have priced them to please, don’t miss out!
£24.50