Kushan King Vasudeva II - India Gold Stater 290-310 AD.

Meltdown

Here's my most impulsive purchase ever. I don't know the first thing about ancient pieces. I mainly collect 19th century type coins.
I'd love some opinions on this piece. I was surprised to learn that this is 24 karat gold.

Any opinions on the grade, condition & scarcity would be much appreciated.


India Gold Stater 290-310 AD.
Kushan King Vasudeva II. - 7.8 grams of 24 karat gold.

Obverse: King standing left, wearing conical crown with nimbus, holding trident and sacrificing at altar, trident standard behind /
Reverse: Siva standing facing, holding trident and diadem; the bull, Nandi, standing left behind; tamgha above left.

Meltdown

Still looking for some other information...
Anybody have an idea of mintage or number of surviving examples? Any help or insight would be appreciated.

worldcoinguy

Very cool piece! I see why it was an impulse buy. I wish I could offer some additional information but its way out of my expertise area.

Sapyx

<< <i>Anybody have an idea of mintage or number of surviving examples? Any help or insight would be appreciated. >>


Nobody knows mintage figures for ancient coins - while they may indeed have been kept, none have survived.

As far as guessing at the number of surviving specimens is concerned, there are several factors that must be taken into account with ancient coins that don't apply to moderns:

- A large proportion of them are in museums and other public collections, out of reach for collectors.
- There were no coin collectors back when the coins were new, so nobody was carefully keeping aside full sets or high-grade specimens.
- You never know if or when somebody will come along and dig up a whole bucketful of the things.
- In many countries where ancient coins are found, it's technically illegal to buy, sell, or even own ancient coins.

Meltdown

<< <i>

<< <i>Anybody have an idea of mintage or number of surviving examples? Any help or insight would be appreciated. >>


Nobody knows mintage figures for ancient coins - while they may indeed have been kept, none have survived.

As far as guessing at the number of surviving specimens is concerned, there are several factors that must be taken into account with ancient coins that don't apply to moderns:

- A large proportion of them are in museums and other public collections, out of reach for collectors.
- There were no coin collectors back when the coins were new, so nobody was carefully keeping aside full sets or high-grade specimens.
- You never know if or when somebody will come along and dig up a whole bucketful of the things.
- In many countries where ancient coins are found, it's technically illegal to buy, sell, or even own ancient coins. >>




Thanks for the input. My next plan is to send this to NGC to be graded/authenticated.
Of course, any other thoughts or opinion are welcomed!