EASTERN ISSUES. Silk Road Region. Ca. 5th-8th centuries AD. AV tremissis (20mm, 1.21 gm, 5h). VF, wavy flan, mount removed. Indian, Chinese, or Turkish issue imitating a gold solidus of Justinian I. II VΛΩI-PP AVI, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing, wearing pendilia, with globus cruciger in right hand, shield decorated with horseman motif in left / VICTΩ-Λ AVGGG Θ, Angel standing facing, head left, grounded staff surmounted by staurogram in right hand, globus cruciger in outstretched left; star in right field, CONOB in exergue. Cf. Sear 289 (solidus) for prototype. Cf. Roma Numismatics, E-Sale 81 (25 February 2021), lot 788 for similar type. V. Raspopova, "Gold Coins and bracteates from Pendjikent," in Coins, Art, and Chronology, pp. 453-460. A type undetermined by NGC, thus ineligible for encapsulation. From a discussion of Western Turks and Byzantine gold coins found in China on transoxiana.org: "Since a solidus of Justin II was excavated in a Sui Dynasty tomb at Dizhangwan, Xianyang, Shanxi province in 1953, more than 40 specimens of Byzantine gold coins and their imitations have been unearthed and found in China. The gold coins from eastern Mediterranean made their way east and finally settled in the heartland of China. The gold imitations of solidi and bracteates date from the mid-6th to mid-8th centuries AD (from late Northern Qi to the mid Tang Dynasties). All finds come from graves except one from the treasure hoard of Hejiacun (Xi'an). The majority was found in Astana tomb site in Turfan area and graveyard of Shi family in Guyuan, Ningxia province. Most tomb occupants in the central region of China were descendants of Sogdians. Luo Feng therefore surmises that Central Asia may be the main provenance of these imitations and bracteates (Guanyu Xi'an suochu Dongluoma jinbi fangzhipin de taolun" (Discussion on the imitation of Solidus unearthed in Xi'an), Zhongguo qinbi (Chinese Numismatics), 1993,4, 17-19; Luo Feng, Guyuan nanjiao Sui-Tang mudi (A Sui and Tang graveyard in the southern suburbs of Guyuan), Beijing, 1996, 151-156)." HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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