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Drachm - Vasudeva Kushana
| Issuer | Kushan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 195-225 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ÞAO NANO ÞAO BAÞOΔHO KOÞANO |
| Reverse description | The Hindu deity Oesho (identified with Shiva) depicted standing facing, wearing a crown with two projecting elements, holding a trident upright in the left hand with the right hand raised in a gesture of benediction or holding an attribute. A small bull (Nandi), Shiva's sacred mount, is visible in the lower right field. The Bactrian inscription OηÞO identifying the deity appears to the right in the field. The reverse exhibits the characteristic syncretic Kushan iconography blending Iranian and Indian religious traditions. |
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| Additional information |
Vasudeva I ruled the Kushan Empire at its territorial peak but presided over the beginning of its slow fragmentation — Sasanian pressure from the west was already mounting by the early third century. These copper drachms circulated in the eastern territories where silver never fully displaced base-metal coinage, serving an economy built on overland trade between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. The Mitchiner reference places this firmly within the later phase of Vasudeva's output, distinguished from earlier issues by subtle die progressions that specialists use to sequence the reign.