Named in the middle of the 19th century by the German scholar, Baron Ferdinanad von Richthofen, the Ancient Silk Road streched thousands of miles through deserts and mountains from China to Europe. It was first traveled by Zhang Qian when he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions in the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.) At that point in history the Han dynasty and the empire of Parthia in Persia were in their golden ages, which supported the smooth development of this route. The Silk Road was the information super highway of its age, serving as a conduit not only for trade, but also for the transmission of knowledge and ideas between east and west. It prompted an explosion of long and short lived civilizations and a large array of different ancient currencies over the centuries. When the Silk Road was first established, sailk was not the chief commodity. The Han dynasty made very little profit from it until the Romans discovered silk. The Romans were so taken with silk that they even exchanged silk for its weight in gold. During the Tang dynasty, thirty percent of the trade on the Silk Road was comprised of silk. The discovery of a sea route from Asia to Europe in the late 15th century dealt a damaging blow to the Silk Road trade. With less cost, harrasment and danger, many goods were now conveyed through the sea route. Also, the Persians had mastered the art of silk production and the export of silk from the Far East was reduced. After that, the Silk Road declined. The bustling streets, wealthy cities and solid ramparts are now sumerged in the vast desert, and today, we can only trace their splendid history in the endless ruined and delapidated remains and the few ancient coins that were hidden away. Many of these civilizations are only known by the coinage they left behind. The coins included in this set are: Mauryan Punch Mark (3rd C.B.C.), Persia Sigloi (5th C.B.C.), Rome Antoninianus (3rd C.A.D.), Gupta Karshapana (5-6th C.A.D.), Abassid Dinar (8-9th C.A.D.), Shahi Jital (9th C.A.D.), Ayyubid Dirham (12-13th C.A.D.), Amirs of Sind Damma (11th C.A.D.), Artuqid Dirham (12-15th C.A.D.), Armenia Tram (13th C.A.D.), Venice Grosso (13-14th C.A.D.), Eretnid Dirham (14th C.A.D.), Mamluk Dirham (13-15th C.A.D.), Muzaffarid Dirham (14th C.A.D.), Safavid Shahi (14-17th C.A.D.), Hungary Dinar (16-17th C.A.D.), Ottoman Fraction (16-17 C.A.D.), Russia Kopek (17-18th C.A.D.), Nepal Dam (18th C.A.D.), and India Chukram (19th C.A.D.). This unique collection of of genuine coins of the Silk Road civilizations is the result of many years of laborious and fortuitous acquisitions of small groups of coins from dozens of sources from around the world. No two collections are exactly alike, and if attempted again today, the assemblage of this collection would be nearly impossible to recreate. The coins have all been inspected for quality and authenticity, expertly conserved and attributed to their respective time periods and nations, then encapsulated in custom made archival materials and presented in a specially designed, hand-made, hardwood and brass display case with a Certificate of Authenticity. This stunning set would make a truly extraordinary gift for any student of world history or collector of world coins.