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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1748057, member: 19463&quot;]I can&#039;t say I&#039;d apply the term Indo Scythian to the Kushans but have not researched it so I won&#039;t say it is wrong.&nbsp; Soter Megas Coins are attributed to three mints scattered over their real with Taxila being most common.&nbsp; Kapisa and Balkh are the other two and sometimes merge in my mind more than I&#039;d like.&nbsp; Taxila coins are distinquished by rounded letter forms which are easier to see on some letters than others.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When shopping for these coins be aware that there are two deniminations that can look the same in photos.&nbsp; The big one is called unit or tetradrachm weighing around 8g while the small one is a quarter unit an 1/4 the weight.&nbsp; I really doubt the original users called the coins tetradrachms but collectors do what they must.&nbsp; This is a 9 ray (explained below) slightly over 2g&nbsp; quarter unit.&nbsp; The other coins shown in this post are all the larger size.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]274361[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There are two features I suggest you seek out when buying the coins.&nbsp; They seem to have been dated or split into series by the number of rays above the head of the portrait.&nbsp; Coins with countable rays are worth more than coins unclear or off flan.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; That is why I like coins that are clear in that area.&nbsp; I&#039;ll show a 7 ray Taxila (rounded letter) and 12 ray Balkh (squared letters). </p><p>[ATTACH=full]274362[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]274363[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The other feature I value is the legibility and completeness of the reverse legend.&nbsp; Very, very few coins show all the letters at full height allowing you to read Soter Megas (Great savior) Basileus Basileon (King of Kings).&nbsp; Of the coins I have seen the Taxila one below has the best reverse in this sense.&nbsp; Yes, I realize the obverse is a total loss.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]274364[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Don&#039;t pay too much for these coins in poor shape.&nbsp; They are common.&nbsp; What is rare are nice examples with clear rays and full legends and sharp details.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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