1833.] Collection of Ancient Coins. 313 
formal curls, appertain to the Persian monarchs. The in- 
scription is in the Pehlevi character : some of the letters resem- 
ble badly executed Greek. 
These coins are all from Khoja-o-ban, the ruins of an ancient city N. W. 
of Bokhara, whence numerous gems and antiques were also procured. 
Hig. 8, was obtained from the same place. A gold coin of one of the 
Sassanian kings of Persia, supposed to be Sapor (Shapér). The 
name and titles are very distinct in the PeA/evi character. It 
is remarkable that the usual supporters of the fire altar, two 
priests or kings, are omitted ; unless indeed the rude ornaments 
on each side are intended to represent human figures holding 
swords. A silver Sassanian coin delineated in Hypx’s Religio 
Veterum Persarum has similar supporters. Lieut. Burnes has 
also a silver Sassanian coin; it is curious from the contour of 
the fire altar being fashioned into a human profile; it was 
found at Khiva. I have not found room to insert it. 
Fig. 9. One of twenty small Sassanian copper coins, which are 
very abundant in the same neighbourhood. They have a good 
head on the obverse, and a very rudely executed fire altar on 
the reverse*. 
Fig. 7. A square copper coin from Shorkot,h, a fortress twenty miles 
from the junction of the Jelum and the Chundb (the Hydaspes 
and Acesines) where ALEXANDER lost his fleet in a storm. 
It is by some thought to be the fortress of the Malli, in the 
assault of which he was wounded. All that can be read of 
the inscription is BASIAEQS..., On the other side the inscrip- 
tion is in Pehlevi. This coin may be ascribed with tolerable cer- 
tainty to Menanper, both because it resembles in shape the 
coin of that prince in Col.Ton’s plate, and because the three 
first letters of the word which follows Basia~ros have much 
the appearance of NIK, Or NIKATOPOS, the epithet applied to 
MeEnaANDER according to ScHLEGEL. Journal Asiatique, Nov. 
1828. The standing figure however, on the obverse, and the 
curious emblem on the reverse, supposed by Col. Top to be a 
portable altar, agree rather with his coin of Apollodotus. 
Pl. VII. fig. 2. I must here introduce a coin procured from the same 
place by General Ventura, for which I am indebted to Captain 
* A gold solidus of the lower empire was also found at Khoja-o-bdn, of rude fa- 
brication :—it is either of Marcianus, or more probably Mauricius—inscription 
DN MAVRC..TIb PP AVG, On the reverse, an angel holding the cross and globe 
with VICTORIA AVGGG, and below, CONOB. 
ss 
