Sale: CNG 60, Lot: 1075. Estimate $150.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2002.  Sold For $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ALCHON HUNS. Mihirakula or successors. Period of Chaos. Circa 540-570/80. AR Drachm (3.50 gm). Squat bust right, wearing crown adorned with crescents; shell behind, stylized fire altar before / Remnants of fire altar motif, with peck marks. Göbl Em. 145; cf. Alram Geschichte 61. VF, toned. Very rare, listed as unique by Göbl. ($150)

This issue is the immediate antecedent of Alram Geschichte 61; Göbl Nachtrage 150A, attributed to Narana/Narendra at Gandhara, after 600 AD. This coin, Em. 145 has a precident in Em. 71, attributed to Khingila circa 440-450 AD, from the locales of Kabul, Hadda, and Peshawar. The bust on Em. 71 is remarkably similar to that of 145, but the latter lacks the usual tamgha, and refined style of the earlier piece. It would be unrealistic to postulate an uninterrupted continuum in these types, but there certainly is an interrelationship. Stylistically earlier than the other two examples included here: the diadem tie is more distinct, and the bust more defined, with higher relief.