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Obol - Shao Alkhano Type 67A, unknown mint
| Issuer | Alchon Huns |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Göbl Kushan#EM 67A |
| Obverse description | Highly schematized and stylized bust of the ruler facing right, rendered in a degenerate barbarous style derived from Sasanian prototypes. The effigy displays a large, rounded cranium with vestigial facial features reduced to bold, globular relief elements. Remnants of a crown or headdress are discernible at the upper field, and the drapery of the shoulders is suggested by abstract, curved linear forms. The overall execution reflects the pronounced stylistic degradation characteristic of late Alchon Hun minor coinage, with design elements compressed and distorted due to the small flan size. |
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| Reverse description | A highly degenerate rendering of a fire altar flanked by two attendants, derived ultimately from Sasanian reverse iconography. The altar is represented by a vertical central element surmounted by a crescent-like arc of concentric ridged lines, while the two flanking figures are reduced to bold, swirling globular masses suggesting faces or busts in extreme stylization. A beaded border is partially visible along the flan's surviving edge. The entire composition is severely schematized, consistent with the barbarous coinage conventions of the Alchon Hun obol series as catalogued under Göbl EM type 67A. |
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| Additional information |
The Alchon Huns displaced the Kidarites across Gandhara and the Punjab from roughly the late 4th century onward, and their coinage reflects that transition — a deliberate appropriation of existing monetary conventions to ease absorption into established trade networks. The obol denomination itself was inherited from earlier Kushano-Sasanian practice rather than invented by the Alchons.
At 0.21 g, individual dies for fractions this small were often shared across mints or recut extensively, which makes mint attribution for type 67A genuinely uncertain rather than merely undocumented.