Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Cash - Urk Vartramuka Samarqand, without hole
| Issuer | Samarqand, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 675-696 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Cash |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field features a rectangular frame or cartouche, within which an un-cut hole placeholder is visible, surrounded by a Sogdian inscription arranged in a circular legend around the central design. The inscription identifies the issuing ruler and reads in Sogdian script. The coin's fabric is irregular and the fields show the characteristic rough surface typical of cast Sogdian coinage of this period. Decorative pellet or dot elements appear within the border area. The overall style is consistent with late 7th-century Transoxianan numismatic conventions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays the dynastic tamgha of Samarqand positioned to the left of an un-cut central hole area, with an additional secondary tamgha symbol placed to the right, both set within a plain field. The tamghas serve as heraldic dynastic emblems characteristic of Sogdian rulers of the Samarqand region. The field is otherwise plain and unadorned, consistent with the austere reverse designs of Sogdian cast bronze coinage. The coin's irregular flan and coarse surface texture are typical of the casting technique employed in the Transoxiana region during this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Samarqand in the late seventh century was a city under acute pressure — Arab armies had been raiding Sogdiana repeatedly since the 650s, and the local Ikhshid rulers minted coins that deliberately retained pre-Islamic iconographic and monetary conventions as a form of cultural resistance. The absence of the central hole on this type is a notable departure from the dominant cast-coin tradition of the Sogdian sphere, where square-holed issues dominated everyday exchange. Whether this reflects a specific administrative decision or workshop variation remains debated among specialists in Sogdian numismatics.