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1 Dinar - Vasishka
| Issuer | Kushan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 240-250 |
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| Currency | Drachm |
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| Obverse description | Full-length frontal effigy of the Kushan king Vasishka standing in ceremonial dress, wearing a crested or flame-topped crown. The king holds a trident in his left hand and raises his right hand in a gesture of authority or offering. Brahmi script characters appear in the field to the left and right of the royal figure, with additional Brahmi legends along the periphery. The design is executed in the bold, stylised artistic tradition characteristic of Kushan gold coinage, with the king depicted in a stiff, hieratic posture above a small altar or flame. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The goddess Ardochsho (Lakshmi) seated frontally on a throne or lion throne, richly attired and wearing an elaborate headdress, holding a cornucopia or diadem in her left hand and extending her right hand in a gesture of bestowal. A small altar with a flame is depicted at her feet in the lower field. The reverse field is enclosed by a beaded border, and a Bactrian legend in Greek-derived script runs along the right margin of the field, naming the deity. The composition follows the standardised Kushan reverse iconographic programme associating royal legitimacy with divine abundance. |
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| Additional information |
Vasishka remains one of the more obscure Kushan rulers, his reign sandwiched between the better-documented Kanishka II and Kanishka III during a period when the empire was already contracting under Sasanian pressure from the west. His coinage is notably scarce relative to his predecessors, suggesting either a short reign, a reduced administrative apparatus, or both. Göbl 552 represents one of the tighter die groups within his corpus — the classification itself a product of Robert Göbl's landmark 1984 typology, which remains the standard reference for Kushan numismatics.