Triton XVIII, Lot: 855. Estimate $3000. Sold for $2800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Kushan Empire. Huvishka. Circa AD 152-192. AV Dinar (21mm, 7.94 g, 12h). Mint I (A). 3rd emission. ÞαO(retrograde h)α(retrograde h)OÞαO OO hÞKI KOÞα(retrograde h)O, crowned bust left on clouds / ÞαOPhOPO, Shaoreoro (Ares-Mars) standing right, holding spear and shield set on ground; tamgha to left. MK 265 (O1/R– [unlisted rev. die]); Donum Burns –. Good VF, slight die shift on reverse. The second known (the other in Berlin).

Shaoreoro, like the later Pahlavi Shahrevar, was originally the Hindu Kshathra Vairya, or “Desirable Kingdom.” Like Indra, the chief god of the Rig Veda, Shaoreoro was the genius of Kushan imperial might and the god of the molten metal that was to cover the earth on the Last Day.