INDIA, Kushan Empire. Huvishka. Circa AD 151-190. AV Dinar (20mm, 8.00 g, 12h). Subsidiary mint in Gandhara (Peshawar?). Late phase. ÞαO(retrograde h)α(retrograde h)OÞαO O(retrograde h)ÞKI KOÞα(retrograde h)O, diademed and crowned half-length bust left on clouds or mountain, holding mace-scepter and goad / ÞαOPHOα to left, Shaoreoro (Ares-Mars) standing right, holding spear and shield set on ground; tamgha to right. MK 382 var. (rev. legend; dies unlisted); ANS Kushan 770 = Adams III, lot 2135 (same rev. die); Donum Burns –; Künker 318, lot 2170 (same rev. die); CNG 100, lot 1686 (same rev. die); Triton V, lot 1685 (same rev. die). Lightly toned, a few minor marks. Near EF. Extremely rare with die combination unknown to Göbl, none of this combination in CoinArchives.
From the Archytas Collection.
Shaoreoro, like the later Pahlavi Shahrevar, was originally the Hindu Kshathra Vairya, or "Desirable Kingdom." Like Indra, the chief god of the Rig Veda, Shaoreoro was the genius of Kushan imperial might and the god of the molten metal that was to cover the earth on the Last Day.