Sino?Kharosthi and Sino?Brahmi coins from the silk road of western China identified with stylistic and mineralogical evidence
Resource
Geoarchaeology, 26(2), 245-268
Journal
Geoarchaeology
Pages
245-268
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Fang, Jiann-Neng
Yu, Bing-Sheng
Chen, Cheng-Hong
Wang, David Teh-Yu
Tan, Li-Ping
Abstract
Three coins of the Khotan horse, or Sino-Kharosthi, style from Xinjiang province of China were recently obtained from a coin dealer. Because the archaeological context of these coins remains unknown, we conducted chemical and stylistic analyses to help determine their authenticity. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX or microprobe) measurements indicate that they are red (pure) copper and bronze coins, with one coin containing 4.2% Ag. Metal content and the presence of secondary minerals formed through weathering indicate that these are authentic ancient coins that were buried in a dry environment. All three coins bear Chinese characters; one shows Kharosthi, and two display Brahmi, a popular language in Khotan from A.D. 260 to 282. This indicates that the Sino-Brahmi coins were made slightly later than the Sino-Kharosthi coins, which were made before A.D. 260. These specimens represent the first Sino-Brahmi coin and 20-zhu coin ever reported in the literature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Type
journal article
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