Catalog
Debased Dinar - Durlabha Deva
| Issuer | Kidarite Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 665-715 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylized and schematically rendered bust of the ruler facing right, depicted in the late Kushano-Sasanian tradition with a pronounced diadem and elaborate flame-like or ribbon headdress rendered in concentric arched lines. The face is shown in profile with a prominent nose, the neck adorned with a necklace or collar indicated by a cluster of globular pellets. Subsidiary symbols including a crescent and geometric devices occupy the left field, while wavy lines and pellet groupings fill the right field. The overall style reflects the progressive debasement and artistic schematization characteristic of late Kidarite coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field dominated by a large, schematically rendered fire altar depicted frontally, with a stylized flame or trident-like finial rising from the altar's capital and adorned with a row of globular pellets along the upper register. A standing or seated attendant figure is visible to the right of the altar, rendered in a highly abstracted manner consistent with late Kidarite die-cutting conventions. The left field features a palm frond or leaf motif, while the lower field contains arrow or chevron devices. Brahmi legend remnants and subsidiary symbols appear in the field, the entire composition reflecting the degenerative artistic style typical of heavily debased late dynastic issues. |
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| Additional information |
The Kidarite dynasty that issued this coin was itself a successor state to the Kushano-Sasanian kingdom, occupying a shrinking territorial hold in the Hindu Kush and northwestern India as Hunnic pressure from the north intensified through the late 7th century. The debasement visible in this piece is not incidental — it tracks the kingdom's material decline directly, with gold content dropping sharply across the reign of Durlabha Deva as access to bullion sources eroded alongside political control.
Mitchiner's AC#3654 grouping places this among the later emissions of the type, where fabric quality and alloy consistency become increasingly irregular die to die.