In 2001 Osmund Bopearachchi published in this journal two unique coins thought to have come from the second Mir Zakah hoard. The first was a small gold coin said to weigh 1.6g (fig. 1). The coin was subsequently offered for sale by Classical Numismatic Group in 2012 and 2013, with the weight given then as 1.06g. Unusually in the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek series to which it was tentatively attributed, the coin did not include the name of a king or queen in a legend. The only inscription present on the coin was a – C marking on the reverse. The types of the coin are equally unusual. The obverse features a circular shape with two extensions on either side, the interpretation of which is uncertain. Bopearachchi suggested that the shape may represent a shield, although he was unsure how to read the features at the sides, and he left the question of identification open in the hope of further discoveries. The coin remains unique, ruling out any new attempt to determine the obverse type and the best guess remains that offered by Bopearachchi. The reverse, however, is certainly a caduceus, although the horizontal line at its base is different from the depiction on other Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek coins. The signs, or letters, in the right field pose more of a problem. Bopearachchi suggested the possibility that they represent an iota and a lunate sigma, although the orientation of the 'iota' would seem to be a substantial barrier to accepting that identification. The appearance of two distinct symbols of this sort is certainly not seen on other Graeco-Bactrian or Indo-Greek coins.
