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HERITAGE AUCTION: INDIA PAST AND PRESENTHeritage Auctions will be hosting their India: Past and Present Spotlight Auction on October 28. Some selections from their October 15, 2024 Heritage Coin News email are discussed below. -Garrett 
Our October 28 Spotlight India: Past and Present Auction highlights the rich and diverse numismatic history of the Indian subcontinent. This impressive auction features an array of Hunnic and Kushano-Sasanian issues, alongside fine selections from Bactrian and Indo-Scythian eras. Mughal enthusiasts will appreciate a handful of truly choice gold issues, complemented by stunning silver and gold pieces from Hyderabad. Rounding out the Showcase is a large offering of mint state examples from British India, sure to captivate collectors of Indian coinage through the ages. A remarkable chapter in the annals of Central Asian history is the era of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from the mid-third century to the mid-fifth century AD, flourishing as a historical intersection of the Kushan and the Sasanian Empires. While the Kushans were a major power in South and Central Asia, the Sasanians hailed from Persia, creating an intriguing blend of cultures and traditions within the kingdom. Hormizd I is predominantly known for his significant role in fostering cultural syncretism during his reign. As mentioned above, this auction has a nice offering of Kushano-Sasanian issues, led by an AU gold dinar of Hormizd I Kushanshah (Ohrmazd) struck ca. AD 285-300. The Indian subcontinent has produced a wide variety of coinage through the years, including: 
BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Eucratides I the Great (ca. 170-145 BC). AR tetradrachm (36mm, 16.82 gm, 12h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5. Attic standard. Uncertain mint in the Paropamisadai or Gandhara. Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Eucratides I right, seen from side, wearing crested Boeotian helmet adorned with bull horn and ear; bead-and-reel border / ??S???OS ??G???Y / ??????????, the Dioscuri on horses prancing right, both with couched spear in right hand, palm in left over shoulder; ??? monogram in lower right field. Bopearachchi 6E. HGC 12, 131.
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BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Eucratides II (ca. 145-140 BC). AR tetradrachm (34mm, 16.81 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 3/5, die shift. Diademed and draped bust of Eucratides II right, seen from front; bead-and-reel border / ??S???OS / ??????????, Apollo standing facing, head left, examining arrow in right hand, resting left hand on grounded bow; HA monogram in inner left field. Bopearachchi Série 1I (unlisted monogram for type). HGC 12, 161.
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INDIA. Post-Gupta (Samatata). Ratas. Sri Jivadharanarata (ca. AD 650-680). AV dinar (20mm, 5.52 gm, 10h). Choice XF. Stylized archer standing facing, head left, bow in left hand, arrow in right; Trisula standard behind surmounted by open crescent at top at left, Sri (Brahmi) in upper left field, JiVa in lower right field, dotted border / Stylized goddess standing right; pseudo-characters on right, dotted border. Cf. MACW 4924 (Third Gupta Dynasty of West Bengal, ca. AD 550-700). TOTGE, pg. 402.
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INDIA. Regional Coinage. Kashmir. Shri Sahi (?) (ca. AD 380-430). AV dinar (25mm, 7.87 gm, 12h). Choice MS. Imitating Kidara issues. King standing facing, standard in left hand, sacrificing over altar to left, degraded style; Kidara (Brahmi) beneath left arm, Kapan in left field, Kushana in right field / Ardoxsho, nimbate, seated facing, cornucopia cradled in left arm, degraded style. Donum Burns 1953-1956. MACW 3695-3702.
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Awadh. Ghazi al-Din Haidar gold Mohur AH 1234 Year 26 (1818/1819) MS62 NGC, Muhammadabad Banaras mint, KM150. A stunning selection and one of the more instantly recognizable types of Awadh origin, positively beaming with golden resplendence and originality. From the L. William Libbert Collection
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Bahawalpur. Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan V silver Medallic Nazarana Rupee AH 1343 (1925) MS64 PCGS, Bahawalpur mint, KMX-M10. A difficult type, especially in comparable preservations, with only the most trivial of marks to preclude this survivor from Gem assignment.
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Hyderabad. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan II gold Ashrafi AH 1325 Year 41 (1907/1908) MS63 NGC, Hyderabad (Farkhanda Bunyad) mint, KM-Y44.1. A praiseworthy representative of a series we find relatively few examples of from the early 20th century, here preserved at a commendable Choice assignment.
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Patiala. Bhupindar Singh gold 2/3 Mohur VS (19)58 (1900/1901) MS66 NGC, KM-Y36, Zeno-83470. 7.45gm. Citing the Durrani Ahmad Shah. A scarcer type especially in this grade, which presently ranks as tied with one other for the finest. A stunning rendition with boisterous luster.
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