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The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 48, November 28, 2004, Article 5 AFGHAN GOLD PORTRAIT COIN COUNT DISPUTED William Bischoff writes: "Not to nitpick , but it seems highly unlikely that there were "2,000 gold and silver coins depicting Afghan royalty as early as 500 BC" in the recently (and miraculously!) recovered Kabul Museum holdings. Until its conquest by Alexander the Great, and his death in 323 BCE, Baktria (as it was then known) was a Persian satrapy far off the beaten track for coinage. Coins struck by Alexander's successors are a subject for scholarly debate, but until now no one has claimed that coins with portraits of Afghan rulers were struck before the terminus ad quem at issue here. To clinch the argument, consider the fact that even the portraits of Alexander were initially understood (if that is the right word) as pictures of a god in his [Alexander's] image: up to that time the Greeks had not pictured mortals on their coinage. Roman republican coinage down to the imperators traced a similar trajectory. P.S. I hope the preservation of these treasures, against all expectations, will somewhat cool the ardor of those who relentlessly press to sell off numismatic collections held by museums. Hail to the professional dedication of those unknown, underpaid, conscientious curators in Kabul!" [If our readers didn't pick nits, I'd have a lot less to publish each week. -Editor] Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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