Greetings CTAF friends, I wanted to share my newest Indo-Scythian drachm with the Forum one more time. I featured this in the large Indo-Scythian coin poster that I designed the other day. Since then, I've had some requests and positive comments about this particular coin from some Ancient Forum members. I decided to create a poster featuring this coin alone. From what I've been told by Forum friends—it's a rather rare and a choice example of this particular type. I'll confess that it wasn't cheap but I purchased it not for it's rarity but because I liked the shape and imagery. Anyway, here it is again and many thanks for your kind comments.
Very cool coin @Deacon Ray - the Indo-Scythian civilization must have been a very interesting one, fascinating.
Your posts remind me that i still have some Indo-Scythians on my wish list. Here another Maues in humble bronze:
Cool Checker @Deacon Ray ! I REALLY like SQUARE coins. My Indo-Scythian ruler was JUST after yours, and graduated to a pizza shape! India Indo-Scythian King Azes I 57-30BCE AR Drachm obv-rev
Of the square coins, that is a particularly nice one. The god plus driver in biga is a great scene. Most people will be piling on their squares so I'll show a round Maues that I particularly like showing an elephant wearing a croatal around its neck. Of course it is a copy of the Demetios of Baktria type but I prefer my AE28 Maues (mostly because it is mine).
That's the nicest version I've seen, Doug. I've come close to making a purchase of one of these but none have been of the quality and crispness of imagery that your's displays.
Great coin @Deacon Ray ! I don't have a Mauses, dang it. I did a reshoot of this Indo-Scythian recently, so I'll post it instead. Not to toot my own horn, but it's a pretty darn good pic. Indo-Scythian AE unit, Azes, 1st century BC O: King mounted on horse right, holding spear, Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOY / AZOY R: Humped bull standing right, monograms above, Kharoshthi legend. 20 mm, 9.5 g. toot! toot!
Yes, I find the Indo-Scythians very fascinating. Silver Indo-Scythian coins are being packaged and sold as coins of the Magi of the type which may have been presented to the young Jesus when the Wise Men came to visit Him. I'm somewhat un-sure of this theory but its an interesting legend. I think the theory is what initially kindled my interest in Indo-Scythian coins. I purchased a number of them and gave them as Christmas gifts to the members of our church choir. I bought this boxed set for my own collection. The coin quality in this set is not great. They appear to have been over-cleaned with a wire brush. I bought this set very early in my collecting years before I had ever heard of VCoins or the CoinTalk Ancients Forum.
Over the years I have felt guilty about not studying more about non-classical lands and persons of antiquity that did not issue coins. I regret the fantasy histories that got attached to some coins (the Helios of Rhodes was a portrait of Christ with crown of thorns and all Parthians and other Eastern rulers were Wise Men) but it is a lot easier to drum up interest to learn about Maues or Azes (however many of them there were) than a thousand other tribal leaders who left me no coins. Call me shallow. You simply can not learn everything about everything and I collect coins.
