King standing left beside altar, holding trident. Bactrian legend KANISHKI. Control mark in left field / God Vado running left, OADO in the right field, tamgha in the left field. 27mm, 16.54 grams. Mint of Taxila or Pushkalavati. Mitchiner ACW 3114-3116. SKU T1650-TH41-50921

God "Vado" is Vata-Vayu, the dual-natured Zoroastrian divinity of the wind (Vayu) and of the atmosphere (Vata). Although there is currently no god representing Vata, there is the god Vayu representing air. Vayu is a primary Hindu deity, the lord of the winds and the spiritual father of Hanuman and Bhima.

Kanishka I or Kanishka the Great, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty in the second century (c.127“150 CE), is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant of Kujula Kadphises, founder of the Kushan empire, Kanishka came to rule an empire in Bactria extending to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain. He minted a large series of gold and copper coins depicting various Kushan deities.