WESTERN LIAO: ca. 11th/12th century, AE charm/amulet (22.20g), twelve coarsely engraved animals representing the Chinese zodiac, led by a human being, around the central round hole within a small square box, same on both sides but quite differently engraved, VF, RRR. The Western Liao or Qara Khitai, officially the Great Liao dynasty, was a Sinicized Khitan empire in Central Asia. A similar example is filed on Zeno (#144617, almost identical on one side, slightly differently arranged on the other side), reportedly found in Uzbekistan. An example listed in the Classic Chinese Charms Book Volume 2, #664, has a similar obverse, but a totally different reverse, assigned by the author to the Liao Dynasty, and another, #660, with just 6 animals on each side, described as Liao or Yuan dynasty.

Estimate: USD 300-400