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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 4223540, member: 42773&quot;]Nice find! The Bactrian issues show the influence of Greek culture on Eastern civilizations, dating back to the campaigns of Alexander III. Here is a drachm of Apollodotus, 1st century BC, also bilingual with Greek and Kharosti legends...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1081048[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The Greek on Bactrian issues is, however, a bit quirky, and the spellings and abbreviations sometimes vary from coin to coin. So don&#039;t be surprised if things look off compared to your Hellenistic coins. Here&#039;s an analysis I posted in another thread some time ago...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1081049[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>1. BAΣIΛEΩΣ is spelled BAΣIΛIΩΣΣ, with an I as the 6th letter and two sigmas.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. MEΓAΛOY is abbreviated as MHΓO. Omegas are spelled as dots, a convention borrowed from Seleucid coinage. E and H are interchangeable.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. ΣΩTEPOΣ is abbreviated as ΣPO.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. The K of KAI is missing.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. ΦIΛOΠATOPOΣ is completely spelled out in proper Greek.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. AΠOΛΛOΔOTOY is completely spelled out, but retrograde to the rest of the inscription (in blue from 8 to 5 o&#039;clock).</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, these coins are good examples of why abugidas like Kharosti are much better suited for legends on small coins than alphabets like Greek. Notice how the Greek letters need to be crammed into the coin like sardines, while the Kharosti fits comfortably - and they both say the same thing.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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