Second Known

Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 439. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $4600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Kushan Empire. Huvishka. Circa AD 152-192. AV Dinar (8.00 g, 12h). Mint I (A). 4th emission. ÞAONANOÞAO OOhÞKI KOÞAhO (last h retrograde), nimbate, diademed, and crowned half-length bust of Huvishka facing, head left, holding mace-scepter in right hand, filleted spear in left over shoulder / APΔOXÞO, Ardoxsho standing facing, head left, holding laurel branch in right hand and cradling cornucopia in left arm; tamgha to left. MK 284 (O7/R1); Donum Burns -. Good VF. Extremely rare, the second example known.

One of the most important of all the deities on Kushan coins, Ardoxsho, along with Nana, was the embodiment of abundance and prosperity. Like the Greek goddess Tyche, or the Roman Fortuna, she is depicted with a cornucopia, the symbol of plenty. Her inclusion on Kushan dinars was a logical one, emphasizing the abundance produced by Kushan trade and diplomacy, as well as the ruler’s beneficence.