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Dichalkon - Antialcidas
| Issuer | Indo-Greek Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 115 BC - 95 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Dichalkon (1⁄24) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The caps (piloi) and crossed palm fronds of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, depicted as divine symbols without the full figures, a type associated with Indo-Greek royal coinage. A monogram appears in the left field, while a three-line Kharoshthi legend is disposed along three sides of the square flan, providing the Prakrit royal titulature. |
| Reverse script | Kharosthi |
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| Additional information |
Antialcidas ruled from the eastern reaches of Bactria into the Indus valley at a moment when the Indo-Greek kingdom was fracturing under pressure from both Parthian expansion to the west and Śaka incursions from the north. His coinage is notable for being among the first Greek issues in the subcontinent to fully commit to a bilingual format pairing Greek with Kharoshthi, a practical concession to the realities of governing a population with no connection to Hellenistic administrative tradition.
Copper issues like this dichalkon were the workhorse of local market exchange, circulating in territories where silver tetradrachms would rarely change hands in daily commerce.