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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 24561821, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1556254[/ATTACH] </p><p>Indo-Greek Kingdoms.&nbsp; AR square drachm.&nbsp; Apollodotos I (c. 160-150 BCE according to Mitchiner, or maybe a bit earlier according to Bopearachchi).&nbsp; Obverse: Elephant walking right, Greek legend on three sides &quot;Basileos Apollodotou Soteros&quot; (Of King Apollodotos, Savior), mint monogram kappa-rho beneath.&nbsp; Reverse: Humped bull (zebu) right, inscription in Kharoshthi script &quot;Maharajasa Apaladatasa tratarasa&quot; (same meaning as Greek inscription), mint symbol omega (alternate form) below.&nbsp; MACW 1750-1752v.&nbsp; This coin: Stephen Album Internet-only Auction 19, lot 30 (part of group lot) (March 20, 2023).</p><p><br /></p><p>The Indo-Greek kingdom is an offshoot of the Bactrian kingdom, a Hellenistic kingdom established by Diodotus I, Seleucid satrap of Bactria, c.250 BCE.&nbsp; The Indo-Greeks moved south of Bactria into northern India/Pakistan and became independent of their Bactrian predecessors.&nbsp; Indo-Greek history, unfortunately, is poorly understood, as there are very few surviving written records, and there often seem to be multiple rulers simultaneously, each ruling only a portion of the Indo-Greek realm.&nbsp; Even the dates of the kings are highly uncertain, with different sources giving different ranges.&nbsp; Apollodotos seems to be the first Hellenistic king to have ruled only territory in India/Pakistan and not Bactria, so can be considered the first Indo-Greek king.&nbsp; Apollodotos&#039; coins are noteworthy for being bilingual, including both Greek and Kharoshthi script (used to write various Indian languages).&nbsp; He struck several different coin types, but this design, featuring an elephant and a humped bull (zebu) seems to be the most common.&nbsp; The bull is likely meant to represent the Hindu deity Shiva.&nbsp; The elephant&#039;s symbolism is less clear; it might be a reference to Buddhism.&nbsp; There is also a theory that the elephant represents the important city of Taxila.&nbsp; Unfortunately I don&#039;t have any dedicated reference for this series, just Mitchiner&#039;s overview in his mammoth &quot;Ancient and Classical World&quot; which by now is rather out-of-date.&nbsp; If anyone knows more recent interpretations of this coin (including the mint symbols), I&#039;d welcome them.&nbsp; Even with not much information available to me, I find this an attractive and interesting coin, and am glad to have acquired it.&nbsp; Please post whatever coins you have that are relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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