RR AE hemidrachm (?), Bull's head/Snake, Kidarites (Red Huns), c.300-400, forgotten Hunnic Kingdom in Gandhara/Kashmir Smast area

Bull's head facing, Brahmi letter (Sri?) in the left field / Snake within a round border. 14mm, 1.50 grams. Mitchiner ACW -; Gobl -.

Completely unpublished and unique fascinating little coin! The Kashmir Smast caves are a series of natural limestone caves, artificially expanded from the Kushan to the Shahi periods, situated in the Babozai mountains in the Mardan Valley in Northern Pakistan. According to recent scholarship based on a rare series of bronze coins and artifacts found in the region, the caves and their adjacent valley probably comprised a sovereign kingdom in Gandhara which maintained at least partial independence for almost 500 years, from c. 4th century AD to the 9th century AD. For most of its history, it was ruled by White Hun (or Hephthalite) governors or princes. Scholars contend that the bronze currency found in the region were issued by local semi-independent governors, or Tegins, in the Kashmir Smast valley, paying allegiance to the greater Hunnic Tegins of Gandhara and Bactria.