http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-35595138
China museum offers reward to decode historic coins
Jinshi Cultural Relics Bureau
Image caption
Chinese experts are stumped by the writing on the coins
A museum in eastern China is offering a reward to anyone who can decipher the inscriptions written on six gold coins in its collection.
The centuries-old coins were first unearthed on a farm in the southern Hunan province in the 1960s, where they had been kept inside a small glazed pot. They arrived at Jinshi City's museum in the 1980s, and archaeologists have been puzzling over their markings ever since, the Xinhua news agency reports. Now the museum says it'll hand out 10,000 yuan ($1,500; £1,100) to anyone who can help to shed light on the meaning of the coins' etchings.
The director of the city's Cultural Relics Bureau says they were manufactured in the Delhi Sultanate, the main Muslim sultanate in northern India, around the late 13th Century during China's Yuan dynasty. The front of the coins bears the name of a king, written in a rare form of Arabic, Peng Jia tells the China News Service. "But the information on the back is difficult to decode. I have consulted Chinese and foreign experts, but to no avail."
The coins have been designated as "first-grade national cultural relics", meaning they are officially considered national treasures in China.
..................................
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-02/16/c_135103937.htmReward offered for decoding ancient gold coins
Source: Xinhua 2016-02-16 20:49:01
CHANGSHA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hunan Province is offering a reward to anyone who can decode the inscription on the back of six ancient gold coins.
The Cultural Relics Bureau of Jinshi City has offered 10,000 yuan (1,500 U.S. dollars) to anyone who can explain the mystery of the coins, housed in the city's museum.
A small white glazed pot containing six gold foreign coins was discovered at a farm in the 1960s. The coins are classified as first-level national cultural relics.
Since they were sent to the museum in the 1980s, however, archaeologists have been puzzled.
These coins were manufactured using the Greek coinage method during Delhi Sultanate period, some time in the middle of China's Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), said Peng Jia, bureau director.
The inscription on the front, in a rare type of Arabic, is the name of a King, said Peng, "but the information on the back is difficult to decode. I have consulted Chinese and foreign experts, but to no avail. I hope the answer will be revealed one day."
Related News
• Record number of gold coins found in 2,000-yr-old Chinese tomb
•Gold coins, hoofs found in 2,000-yr-old Chinese tomb
•Largest hoard of gold coins found in Israel
.................................
http://www.malaysiandigest.com/features/595387-china-museum-offers-reward-to-decode-historic-coins.htmlChina Museum Offers Reward To Decode Historic Coins
Details Published on Wednesday, 17 February 2016 21:23
A museum in eastern China is offering a reward to anyone who can decipher the inscriptions written on six gold coins in its collection.
The centuries-old coins were first unearthed on a farm in the southern Hunan province in the 1960s, where they had been kept inside a small glazed pot. They arrived at Jinshi City's museum in the 1980s, and archaeologists have been puzzling over their markings ever since, the Xinhua news agency reports. Now the museum says it'll hand out 10,000 yuan to anyone who can help to shed light on the meaning of the coins' etchings.
The director of the city's Cultural Relics Bureau says they were manufactured in the Delhi Sultanate, the main Muslim sultanate in northern India, around the late 13th Century during China's Yuan dynasty. The front of the coins bears the name of a king, written in a rare form of Arabic, Peng Jia tells the China News Service. But the information on the back is difficult to decode. I have consulted Chinese and foreign experts, but to no avail."
The coins have been designated as "first-grade national cultural relics", meaning they are officially considered national treasures in China.
-BBC
sorry that's all I could find