Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Muhammad Niazi, Jun 26, 2019.

  1. Muhammad Niazi

    Muhammad Niazi Active Member

    One of my favorite coins in my collection,

    normally the reverse would be also along the same direction as the lion, but here whoever struck it, placed the horse and rider along the shorter lenght of the coin, removing most of the details.

    do share your favorite Indo scythian coins!

    Indo-Skythians, Northern Satraps, Kharahostes. ca 20-1 BC.ÃAE Square Unit.
    king on horseback right; uncertain Kharosthi letter to right / Lion to right; Kharosthi letter and X in fields. Senior 143

    IMG-20190626-WA0015.jpg IMG-20190626-WA0014.jpg
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  3. Ryro


    Neat coin! I recently acquired a few of these Indo Greco square guys in a time line auction!

    (171-145 BC), Bronze Unit, BN series 19, 8.99g. Obv: Helmeted bust of king, Greek legend BASILEOS MEGALOU EUKRATIDOU. Rev: Dioskuroideson horseback; Kharoshthi legend above and below MaharajasaEwukratidasa.
    Ex: Timeline Auc


    BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Circa 130-125 BC. Æ (20x20mm, 8.82 g, 12h). Indian standard. Head of Herakles right, lion’s skin tied around neck, club over shoulder / Elephant advancing right; monograms in exergue. Bopearachchi 8A; SNG ANS 1040-7. VF, dark green patina.Ex: Timeline Auction


    Heliokles II
    GREEK KINGS of BAKTRIA, Circa 90-75 BC. Æ Quadruple Unit (23mm, 7.83 g, 12h). Indian standard. Diademed bust right / Elephant advancing left; monogram below. BopearachchiSérie 7C; SNG ANS 1152 var. (monogram).
    Ex: Timeline Auction


  4. Muhammad Niazi

    Muhammad Niazi Active Member

    lovely! theres always an appeal to square coins which round coins dont have.

    The last coin you have is from taxilla, post mauryan era, A lion with swastika and elephant. 1 1/2 karashpana.
    heres mine! (with a lot of surface deformities. I have another in worser condition which was found from the ground with similar surface deformities) got it localy at a price of 5$

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  5. Muhammad Niazi

    Muhammad Niazi Active Member

    Also I cant help but wonder if the language Kharoshti is named after Kharohostes?
    Ryro likes this.
  6. Ed Snible

    Ed Snible Well-Known Member

    According to Wiktionary, the name is "... possibly a corrupted form of an older खरोष्ट्री (kharoṣṭrī, “the script of Kharoshtra”), which is itself derived from खरोष्ट्र (kharoṣṭra), the name of the region in Northwest India where the script was used ..."

    I couldn't figure out if the region was named after Kharohostes, or Kharohostes was named after the region, or if there is a common origin.
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  7. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    Nice coins!

    I have a handful of Scythian coins in my Indian collection.

    Azes AR/BI Tetradrachm, Zeus standing with Nike / King on horseback

    Scythians imitating Hermaios, BI Tetradrachm
    Indo greek Hermaios tetradrachm.jpg

    Azilises (?) AE square unit, King on horseback / Herakles seated on rock

    This one's a toss up: An imitation of an Apollodotus II drachm, vaguely Scythian in style, but it's way too light, at a little under a gram - Scythians seemed to debase the coinage, but respected weight standards to an extent... (No longer my coin; sold on ebay last year)
    Apollodotus ii barb imitation.jpg
  8. Alegandron



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

    Scythia 2 AE Arrowheads 7th-3rd C BC Trilobate Lower Danube 21-25mm

    All I got for Scythian...
  9. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES! Supporter

    Here's Indo-scythian square I'm quite fond of..


    Indo-Scythian, Azes, 1st century BC

    O: King mounted on horse right, holding spear, Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BAΣIΛEΩN MEΓAΛOY / AZOY R: Humped bull standing right, monograms above, Kharoshthi legend. 20 mm, 9.5 g.
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  10. Nonnus

    Nonnus New Member

    Not a coin, but I did just pick up a copy of Osmund Bopearachchi's work on Ahman Ur Rahmans extensive collection of pre-Kushan coinage, a large portion of which deals with the Indo-Greek, Scythians, and Parthian coins of the region.

    Parthicus, chrsmat71 and Ryro like this.
  11. Muhammad Niazi

    Muhammad Niazi Active Member

    This last imitation coin has all the traits of kashmir smast coin, a series of cave temples and people who copied producrd copy coins of kushans, hindus, muslim invaders etc.
    All weigh around a gram and most have thin planchets.

    Added to my wishlist of coin books!
  12. SeptimusT

    SeptimusT Well-Known Member

    I've been interested in these types lately, and have acquired a few examples. I especially like the square bronzes. I think it's for the same reasons that draw me to Alexandrian coinage, namely the visual evidence of cultural exchange.

    Menander, Indo-Greek King circa 165-130 BC
    : Diademed, bare-headed bust of king right, discontinuous Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY
    Reverse: Seen from behind, Athena Alkidemos standing left, holding horizontal shield and hurling thunderbolt, monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa menamdrasa

    Antialkidas, Indo-Greek King circa 115-95 BC, 20mm, 8g
    : Bust of Zeus right, holding thunderbolt in right hand, BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY ANTIAΛKIΔOY
    Reverse: Caps and palms of the Dioscuri, monogram at left, Kharoshthi inscription aroundmaharajasa jayadharasa amtialikidasa

    Diomedes, Indo-Greek King circa 95-90 BC, 20mm, 8.44g
    : Dioscuri standing facing, holding spears, legend around, BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ ΔIOMHΔOY
    Reverse: Humped bull walking right, Kharoshthi legend around, maharajasa tratarasa diyametasa

    Vonones with Spalahores, Indo-Scythian kings circa early 1st century BC
    : Herakles facing, crowning self with right hand, holding club and lion’s skin, legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ BA ΣIΛEΩN MEΓ AΛOY ONΩNOY
    Reverse: Athena left, holding spear and shield, raising right hand, monogram on left; legend around: maharajabhrata dhramikasa spalahorasa
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