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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ancientnoob, post: 1647822, member: 44140&quot;]<b>A Late AR Tetradrachm</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Hermaios 80-75 BC - Afghanistan - Kabul Mint.</p><p>AR Tetradrachm 26.8 mm, (9.44g) </p><p>Obv: Diademed Bust of Hermaios Greek Legend- EPMAIOY BASILWS SWTHPOS (King Hermaios the Savior)</p><p>Rev: Zeus Enthroned with Scepter with arm outstretched; monogram right; Kharoshti legend- I believe the reverse legend reads the same or similar to the obverse. Appealing to the non-Greek speaking populous of the Hindu Kush.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Hermaios is considered the last King of the Unified Greek Kingdom. </p><p>Dating the coins of this ruler is especially difficult. The historical record states that during the reign of Hermaios the Greeks lost control of the the abundantly producing silver mines of Afghanistan to the Bactrian Nomads whom would later be known as the Kushans. They themselves would issue a vast series of coinage all over central Asian and India, till about the 7th century AD. The coins attributed to Hermaios reign has been debated and is far from agreed upon. This particular specimen is attributed to Bopearachchi Series 10F. An early posthumous issue. Although in the paper by K. Walton Dobbins tackles this very subject. Since these coins were first discovered it was thought that life time coins bore the head of the king and queen on the obverse and the king on horseback on the reverse. Then a criteria for determining Nomadic Kushan imitations from the genuine issues was the genuine coins were round, made of fine silver and stuck in fine style with round omicrons but since the 1970&#039;s when this was written I am sure things have changed.</p><p>As an added bonus to this coin- it was these series of coins which gave James Prinsep (1799-1840) the &quot;Rosetta Stone&quot; to finally decipher the Reverse Indic Script. The words of the ancient became readable once again, and gave us the closest connection to the true thought and logic of the BUDDHA, as the language was structurally similar that used during the lifetime of the Buddha. [ATTACH]238863.vB[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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