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Drachm - Archebios
| Issuer | Kings of Baktria |
|---|---|
| Year | 90 BC - 80 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Zeus Nikephoros standing facing, nude but for drapery around the lower body, his right arm raised and holding a small Nike, his left hand resting on a long scepter. The deity stands on a short base or ground line at the center of the field. A Kharosthi legend runs around the periphery within a beaded border, giving the Prakrit equivalent of the royal titulature. |
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| Reverse lettering | 𐨨𐨱𐨪𐨗𐨯 𐨡𐨱𐨪𐨨𐨁𐨐𐨯 𐨗𐨁𐨪𐨐𐨯 𐨀𐨪𐨐𐨁𐨩𐨁𐨯 |
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| Additional information |
Archebios ruled a shrinking Baktrian territory in the late 2nd to early 1st century BC, one of the last Greek kings attempting to hold Hellenistic administration together as Indo-Scythian pressure from the northwest steadily dismembered what had once been a coherent kingdom. His coins are bilingual — Greek on one side, Kharoshthi on the other — a practical concession to the realities of governing a population that had little use for Attic script.
The Bop#5A classification places this among his earlier drachm issues. Dies for Archebios are known to show considerable wear progression within short series, suggesting concentrated mint runs rather than sustained production.