Lot 7220

Southern Sumatra, AV ½ Tahil, 11-13th cent (Krisadaolarn #A706; ZENO276564) - Obv: Makara to right. Makara fish appears as the vehicle of the river goddess Ganga or the sea god Varuna / Rev: Symbol within circle and unread legend around - 18.89 g. - extremely rare, XF, a XRF-test revealed a gold content of over 95%, Krisadaolarn describes the legend as Devanagari, but it seems more likely that the script is inspired by contemporary Arabic dinars which were entering Sumatra at the time. The centre symbol could be read as (retrograde) ‘Allah’ and the circular legend, since 'Muhammad’ could be read in it, may be intended as part of the Kalima