Hey guys, I have this neat menander 1 indo greek drachm. Does anyone have a guess at what it might be worth?
Agree with @Pishpash - I'd compare with VCoins examples. Looks like a nice high grade example, though cleaned a bit shiny for my tastes. Still, that's not as taboo with ancients as it is with more modern coins, as cleaning is often a "necessary evil". And a bright piece of 2,100-year-old silver is a thing of beauty, regardless.
PS- I'm struck by the similarities of that portrait to the head of Mars seen on the Q. Thermus denarii of the Roman Republic (a type I have always liked, especially for the interesting reverse).
Im glad I got this for 30$, unlike the 100$+ listings. Its amazing how small these coins are (18mm) I wonder why many coins of ancient greece and india were so small at around 10 or 14mm. Even the ionian ones were at 6mm. I can say that athena on the coin is a bit overcleaned, I myself dont like over shiny old coins, it doesnt show the age on them.
Not bad id say, that thunderbolt is looking neat! This is the only benefit of dealing with private sellers due to the lack of proffessional dealers in my country pakistan.
Great examples, gang ... great coin-deal, Muhammad (congrats) Ummm, I don't have an exact example, but that's never prevented me from posting my "similar-enough" examples ... hopefully you'll allow my Indo-Greeks to hangout with your cool coins? BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Antialkidas Nikephoros, AR Drachm Circa 130-120 BC Diameter: 17 mm Weight: 2.46 grams Obverse: Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull’s horn and ear Reverse: Zeus seated facing slightly left, holding Nike and scepter; to left, forepart of elephant right; monogram to right Reference: Bopearachchi 12A; HGC 12, 258 BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Hermaios. Fourrée AR Drachm Circa 105-90 BC Diameter: 17 mm Weight: 1.88 grams Obverse: Hermaios on horse right Reverse: Zeus enthroned facing slightly left, raising hand and holding scepter; monogram to right Reference: Cf. Senior, Hermaios H2cD; cf. Bopearachchi 8A; cf. HGC 12, 296 (all refs for official issue) Oh, and sadly, I paid considerably more than $30 each for my two examples (*sigh*)
Beautiful pieces guys! Im trying to get some more indo greek silvers, which are also for around 30$ and I will surely post them! I wish they were as cheap as this for you guys even!
There are collectors whose interest is in weight standards and how it came to be that so many standard silver denominations seem to weigh about the same thing. Robert Tye (author of books on coins from your area) really emphasizes such matters where any others are more into types and inscriptions. There is even a Yahoo group for people interested in metrology. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/numismet/info has 76 members many of which are as inactive as am I.
