Rare! AR drachm of Vijayasena (238-250 AD) as Kshatrap, 239 AD, Western India

Description

Rare
Rare! Indo-Sakas in Western India, silver drachm of Vijayasena (238-250 AD) as Kshatrap
Size:
14 mm, 2.4
grams
Bust of Vijayasena, with corrupted Greek legend (Indo-Greek style), date in Brahmi numerals behind (161 Saka Era = 239 AD) / Three-arched hill or Chaitya, with river, crescent and sun, within legend in Brahmi Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Damasenasaputrasa Rajnah Ksatrapasa Vijayasanasa. With a full date.  "Studies in the Coinage of Western Kshatrapas" #472-477.
Vijayasena ruled as a Kshatrapa for only a year or so, and coins naming him "Kshatrapa" are rare.
The coins of Ksatrapas are important since they are mostly dated - the dates helped to clarify the early history of India. Coins with clear dates, such as this coin are rare - on most specimens the date is struck off flan.
The Western Kshatrapas, or Western Satraps, (35-405 CE) were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states). They were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central India.
This coin is guaranteed to be authentic
Stock# is1103a