INDIA, WESTERN KSHATRAPAS: Rudrasena III (348-378 CE) Silver drachm, year S. 280. SUPERB!

Price

Price: US$ 95.00 € 81.33
£ 70.72
AUD 146.35
CHF 75.29
CAD 133.32
  • Ships from:
  • Rates for: 10/20/2025
  • SKU: w1.374
Description
Obverse Head of king right, date behind head, remnants of blundered Greek legend
Reverse Crescented three-arched hill (chaitya), river below, crescent moon at left, sun at right, Brahmi legend around (at 3:00, clockwise): Rajna Mahakshatrapasa Swami Rudradamaputrasa Rajna Mahakshatrapasa Swami Rudrasenasa
Date S. 280 = 358 CE
Weight 2.11 gm.
Diameter 15 mm.
Die axis 8 o'clock
Reference Senior 360.20
Comments
After the gap of 16 years from S. 254-270 (336-348 CE), a king ascended the Kshatrapa throne again in 270. Rudrasena III names his father Mahakshatrapa Swami Rudradaman, but no such ruler issued coins, so it is not clear if he indeed was a mahakshatrapa. It is quite possible that the descendants of Yasodaman II continued the fiction of kingship and retained their titles, even as they were driven from power and thereby lost the ability to issue coins. In that case, the ascent of Rudrasena III would amount to a restoration.
 
Although Rudrasena enjoyed a long reign, as he issued coins from 270 to 300, it must have been marked by strife. There are no coins known for the years 276-79, so it appears he was driven from the throne for about 5 years in that period. Once he returned, however, the series is continuous until 300.
 
Wonderful portrait and a clear date and legend ... a SUPERB specimen!
 
For guidance on how to read the legends on Western Kshatrapa coins, please see my primer:
How to read the legends on coins of the Western Kshatrapas: A Beginner's Guide.
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