Ancient, Indo-Scythian

Indo-Scythians. Soter Megas. Circa 2nd Century AD. Æ Tetradrachm. 8.35gm, 23mm
Radiate, diademed, and draped bust right, holding sceptre, symbol behind / BASILEVC BASILEWN CWTHR MEGAC, King riding right on horseback, holding sceptre; three-pronged symbol of Soter Megas before. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=4088

Vima Takto (or Vima Taktu) a Kushan emperor from 80–90 CE was long known as "The nameless King", because his coins showed the legend "The King of Kings, Great Saviour". The discovery of the Rabatak inscription helped connect his name with the title on the coins. His empire covered northwestern India and Bactria towards China.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

oh yeah, i dig me some soter megas..nice one.

 

Great lookin' coin, TJ ... nice pick-up

=> oh, and long time, no see, my ol' coin-friend!!

 

Great Coin!

 

Interesting

 

Soter Megas of mine....

 

Indo-Scythian maybe but definitely Kushan.

In recent years this has become a very popular coin type.

 

I can't say I'd apply the term Indo Scythian to the Kushans but have not researched it so I won't say it is wrong. Soter Megas Coins are attributed to three mints scattered over their real with Taxila being most common. Kapisa and Balkh are the other two and sometimes merge in my mind more than I'd like. Taxila coins are distinquished by rounded letter forms which are easier to see on some letters than others.

When shopping for these coins be aware that there are two deniminations that can look the same in photos. The big one is called unit or tetradrachm weighing around 8g while the small one is a quarter unit an 1/4 the weight. I really doubt the original users called the coins tetradrachms but collectors do what they must. This is a 9 ray (explained below) slightly over 2g quarter unit. The other coins shown in this post are all the larger size.


There are two features I suggest you seek out when buying the coins. They seem to have been dated or split into series by the number of rays above the head of the portrait. Coins with countable rays are worth more than coins unclear or off flan. I believe the range is 14 to 5 rays but I have never seen a 5 and many coins are unclear enough that I would not bet on the accuracy of the count. That is why I like coins that are clear in that area. I'll show a 7 ray Taxila (rounded letter) and 12 ray Balkh (squared letters).


The other feature I value is the legibility and completeness of the reverse legend. Very, very few coins show all the letters at full height allowing you to read Soter Megas (Great savior) Basileus Basileon (King of Kings). Of the coins I have seen the Taxila one below has the best reverse in this sense. Yes, I realize the obverse is a total loss.


Don't pay too much for these coins in poor shape. They are common. What is rare are nice examples with clear rays and full legends and sharp details.

 

I have one of these!!!!

AE Tetradrachm, 20.9 mm x 8.42 g based on Doug's Analysis, I would assume this is a Taxila Mint coin.

Oh and BTW At one time weren't all Central Asian people referred to as Indo-Scythian (Ptolemy Geographia?)

 

here's mine...

 

... ummm, I'm gonna toss my only Indo-Scythian coin into the ol' ring (just because)

 

While on the subject of Indo-Scythians, I have this....

 

Yes and this is the 5 ray type I had not seen. Its only fault in my book is the loss of the legend reading Soter Megas leaving only King of Kings.

 

The reverse of this Alexander the Great coin has always puzzled me. It was minted in Macedonia but has a Karosthi on the reverse. Any thoughts ?

 

Hey Traci, I see Greek. ALEXANR??

 

So Noob what do you think ????

 

I guess what I am saying is that I don't see the Kharosthi. I see straight, legible Greek text. On the top of the reverse of the coin is a what appears to be a monogram.

Notice the Kharosthi on the reverse of our coins, it looks like a series of squiggles. The text on your coin is blocky and rigid and reads like Greek....

 

Soter Megas was a Kushan king not indo-scythian

 

Thanks Noob, it would have had to be sideways at any rate. I guess its just an ancient coincidence.