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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Uncertain Bactrian city (Baktria) |
|---|---|
| Year | 261 BC - 238 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Standing owl facing, depicted in the canonical Athenian style with large forward-facing eyes rendered as concentric circles, feathered body covered with pellet-detailed plumage, and taloned feet gripping a ground line. An olive sprig with two leaves and a berry appears to the upper left. The ethnic legend AOE is inscribed to the right of the owl in three lines, reading downward. The composition closely imitates the classic Athenian New Style or earlier owl tetradrachm type, reflecting the widespread use of Athenian monetary iconography in Bactrian coinage of the Hellenistic period. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΑΘΕ |
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| Additional information |
The window between 261 and 238 BC in Bactria is murky by any standard — this is the transitional period between Seleucid administrative control and the breakaway kingdom established under Diodotus I, who effectively declared independence from Antiochus II sometime around 255–250 BC. Coins attributed to uncertain Bactrian mints from this stretch often blur the line between late Seleucid provincial issues and the earliest autonomous Bactrian strikes, which is precisely why the issuing authority here remains unresolved.
The Syros 18–19 reference places this piece within a recognized but contentious grouping — scholars continue to debate whether these issues preceded or immediately followed the formal break with the Seleucids.