Triton XVIII, Lot: 856. Estimate $3000. Sold for $2250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

INDIA, Kushan Empire. Huvishka. Circa AD 152-192. AV Dinar (21mm, 7.91 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 / ÞαYPhOPO (sic), Shaoreoro (Ares-Mars) standing right, holding spear and shield set on ground; tamgha to left. MK 266 (O1/R10); Donum Burns –; CNG 78, lot 1052 (same dies). VF. Extremely rare.

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.