Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ Obol - Hippostratos
| Issuer | Kings of Baktria |
|---|---|
| Year | 65 BC - 55 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Apollo standing facing, turned slightly to the right, depicted in the Hellenistic tradition with a youthful, unbearded figure. The deity holds an arrow with both hands, arms extended before him. The Greek legend encircles the central device within the field, rendered in a bold, slightly irregular strike characteristic of Indo-Greek coinage. The overall composition reflects the Hellenized artistic idiom prevalent in the Baktrian royal series. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHΡΩΣ IΠΠOΣTΡATOΥ (Translation: King Hippostratos, Protector) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Hippostratos ruled in the fragmenting eastern reaches of the Indo-Greek kingdoms during a period when Greek dynastic control over Baktria had already collapsed under Saka and Yuezhi pressure. His coinage is bilingual by necessity — Greek on one face, Kharoshthi on the other — reflecting the administrative reality of governing a population for whom Hellenistic script carried no practical meaning. Bop 8A is among the heavier copper issues attributed to him, suggesting it circulated in a region where fractional bronze denominations still commanded enough daily commerce to justify the metal.