Azes (2?) tetradrachm

Well, my birthday is this coming Saturday (19th) but my birthday present already arrived, so i'll go ahead and post. This was from myself, I always buy me the best presents!

An eastern/greek AR tet has been on my list for two years now, so this was long overdue. This is a sweet coin, and my photograph...taken on my back deck...is actually pretty damned good.



Azes (II?), Indo-Scythian Kingdom, Ar Tetradrachm, 1st century BC

O: King mounted on horse right, holding whip, Kharoshthi letter at right, Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOY / AZOY R: Pallas Athena standing right, holding right hand outstretched, holding spear in left, monograms at left and right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa rajarajasa mahatasa / ayasa 24 mm, 9.6 g Reference: MIG 848k, Sen 98.374T

Look at that obverse, pretty sweet! The reverse has is obvious faults, but the what is on the flan is pretty darn sharp except for that little bit on Athena's head.

I actually said "WOW' aloud when I pulled this thing out of the envelope, besides it's good looks...it felt great when it hit my hand. A nice thick well stuck coin. I love that.




NOTE: As I understand it, there is some debate as to if Azes I and II where actually two guys or one, hence the question mark.

Post you indo-greek, indo-sythian, silvers!

 

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That is super nice, happy birthday!

John

 

Beautiful coin, nice silver surface and detail, hope you have a great day Saturday. Happy birthday for then.

 

Happy Birthday! Here are my coins from Azes:


Azes I/II, Indo-Scythians, BC 57-12/AD 5-35
AR, tetradrachm, 8.76h, 24.5mm;1h
Obv.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΞΟΥ; Great king on horseback right, bow on back, right arm raised holding (?), whip in left, monogram of Karosthi letter left field
Rev.:Karosthi legend; Poseidon standing right holding trident and extending right hand, monogram left, Karosthi letter right (?)


Azes, Indo-Scythian, BC 50-30
AR, drachm, 15mm, 2g; 11h
Obv.: BAΣΙΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓ AΛΟΥ / AZOY; Emperor on horseback right, holding whip and raising right hand, bow on his back. Karosthi letter in right field
Rev.: Kartoshi script around, "MAHARAJASA RAJARAJASA MAHATASA AYASA"; Zeuse standing left, holding long scepter and Nike, monograms in right and left field


Azes II*, Indo-Scythians, BC 57 -12
AR, drachm, 2g, 16mm; 6h, uncertain mint west of Taxila
Obv.: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY AZOY; king on horseback right, raising right hand, holding whip in left, Kharosthi letter "ņa" before
Rev.: Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa rajadirajasa mahatasa ayasa;Pallas-Athena standing right with shield and spear, monograms on either side

 

Congrats on the early birthday gift and "Happy Birthday" if I forget to tell you later!! (great coin)

I happen to have a couple of Indo-Scythians as well ... wanna see 'em?

Indo-Scythian Kings, Azes, AE27




Indo-Skythian Kings, Azes, AR Tet



=> Happy Early Birthday!!

 

Happy birthday from men too, and that is great coin!
Nice picture also clearly shows the high profile.

 

Wow, Chrsmat, that is a superduper birthday present!

 

Excellent coin , congrats Chrsmat

my 2 humble Azes coins:




Azes is considered as one of the 3 Magi , who followed the star of Bethlehem to pay honour & tribute to the new born child Jesus. He is called Gasper in the bible and together with Balthasar and Melchior he crossed the desert on Camelback.

 

@chrsmat71 : HAPPY BIRTHDAY! VERY nice Azes, and great job with GREAT photos! However, there is NO WAY you took those photos in the Pac NW! I lived there for 2 years and only had 2 days of sunshine! Naw, Fall and Spring (Even Summer) were gorgeous!

I have an Azes I just because I said it is the First. No clue if it is Azes I & II or II...


India Indo-Scythian King Azes I 57-30BCE AR Drachm

Ex: The @John Anthony dude... He EXPANDS my collecting realm that I would never even give a thought to...

 

The obverse is insanely nice!!!! The reverse is great - off center but the detail is hard to beat. I would be very pleased with this example. Well played!

 

Happy Birthday @chrsmat71 !!

Wonderful present!! Drachms are nice but TETS rule!!

Congrats on that terrific coin. I love the size and details....and the history is cool too

 

That is exactly how I see it. These look good in photos but are more impressive in hand. My silver is a Poseidon and the bull/lion is bronze.

 

Why does the design and fabric of this one look so crude compared to the others? Is it a different time period?

 

Thought i'd show a bit more obscure Indo-Scythian, and chose this one.
A square copper of Maues. The style nicely illustrates the gradual transition between Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian coinage.

 

IDK but the mintmark in the field is different so I'd start by researching how many mints produced these.

 

Sorry, you can't say "Maues" without seeing my Maues elephant AE28 hemiobol.

 

I cannot find this mint mark so far on the net but I never saw examples of these coins before. Your hemiobol is beautiful.

 

Lovely elephant ! no apologies needed.

 

thanks everyone, and cool coins!

@THCoins what am I looking at on that coin? zeus enthroned with a little guy to his left? What is the reverse figure?

 

There are several interpretations of the obverse. The most common is that it is zeus who bestows tthe king with royal glory. The reverse is Artemis in a classic pose pulling her cape over her shoulder.