This coin was among the items interred in the relic depository of the Tope Kulan stupa, located in what is now Hadda, Afghanistan. As noted by experts at the British Museum, the coin is marked by the inscription "Alchon," written in Bactrian, which is believed to be the name of the clan to which the Hephthalite ruler Khingila belonged. The date was determined by examining other coins found among the relics, primarily Sassanian with a few Byzantine imitations, all minted during the late fifth century.

The Hephthalites are often characterized in part by their animosity towards Buddhism. Yet the fact that this and thirteen other Hephthalite coins like it were found among the relics of an important stupa mound paints a different picture. If the Hephthalite rulers were in fact enemies of Buddhism, it seems doubtful that believers would have interred coins bearing their portraits and inscriptions. A more likely scenario is that the Hephthalite at least tolerated the practice of Buddhism once their reign had been established, and may have supported it whenever it was politically beneficial to do so.