Beginning of Coinage in Southern Asia

Triton XVIII, Lot: 250. Estimate $1500. Sold for $3250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

UNCERTAIN EAST, Uncertain mint in the Kabul Valley. Circa 5th century BC. AR Half Stater – Siglos(?) (22mm, 5.75 g). Indistinct type / Crowned goat recumbent left, head right; zig-zag pattern (or letter?) below; c/m: uncertain design in incuse circle. Caboul Hoard Groupe 2, 36 = ATEC 2057 = Sunrise 144 (this coin). VF, toned, minor hairline edge splits, traces of hard green deposits. Unique for denomination.

From the Sunrise Collection. Ex Cabul 1933 Hoard (IGCH 1830).

This coin is from the first issue of coinage struck in the eastern region of the Achaemenid Empire. The exact location of the mint remains unknown, though analysis of the Cabul hoard suggests they originated from a mint in the Kabul Valley.