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Sino‐Kharosthi and Sino‐Brahmi coins from the silk road of western China identified with stylistic and mineralogical evidence
Author(s) -
Fang JiannNeng,
Yu BingSheng,
Chen ChengHong,
Wang David TehYu,
Tan LiPing
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.20344
Subject(s) - bronze , context (archaeology) , ancient history , china , style (visual arts) , electron microprobe , art , geology , mineralogy , archaeology , history
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.