KUSHAN Vasu Deva II & Vashishka circa 250-260 AD
$25.00
KUSHAN, Vasu Deva II & Vashishka, circa 250-260 AD, unit, no date, Taxila, Obverse: king sacrificing L, Reverse: Siva & bull, “Shiva” above, bronze, 19mm, 8.1g, MA3529+, off center reverse, VF
1 in stock
Description
Anonymous Kushan style bronzes of Vasu Deva I continued to be made for over a century. Some have names on them, others have no legends at all.
The Kushans started as nomads but became cosmopolitan when they conquered Gandhara in western Pakistan. They controlled their section of the Silk Road trade, and patronized Buddhism.
The earliest ancient Indian coins were the “bent bar” punchmarked silvers of the Achaemenid Persians occupying Gandhara in northwest Pakistan. By the 3rd century BC coins were in general use in most of India and Ceylon, and in subsequent centuries struck round coins in gold, silver, and copper came into use throughout the subcontinent and beyond to Southeast Asia and Pacific islands to Java and beyond.
