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Tetradrachm - Kanishka I
| Issuer | Kushan Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 127-150 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Göbl Kushan#783 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The Wind God Oado (Vado) is depicted in dynamic motion, flying to the right with his billowing cloak raised above his head to catch the wind like a sail, and his hair streaming behind him to convey his swift movement. A Bactrian legend identifying the deity appears at right in the field. The dynastic tamgha symbol of the Kushan rulers is placed to the left. The figure is rendered with vigorous, energetic modeling typical of Kushan divine iconography. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Kanishka I's copper tetradrachms occupy an unusual place in Kushan monetary history: the gold dinars get the scholarly attention, but it was the base-metal issues that actually moved through markets from Bactria to the Gangetic plain. Göbl 783 belongs to a reign defined by the convening of the fourth Buddhist council — traditionally attributed to Kanishka's patronage — while his coinage simultaneously draws on Iranian, Greek, and Indic divine iconography, reflecting a court that was deliberately syncretic rather than doctrinally fixed.
The Kushan dating system itself remains contested; the 127 CE accession anchor derives largely from synchronisms with Parthian and Roman sources, not from internal epigraphy.