Obverse: Head of the King Crowned with a
Diadem, Greek Legend Translated as "Great
Saviour King Hippostratos"
Reverse: King Mounted on a Prancing Horse,
Kharoshti Legend Translated as "King
Hippostratos the Great Saviour and Conqueror"
The last of the western Indo-Greek kings,
Hippostratus ruled a territory believed to
encompass northwestern Punjab and
Pushkhalavati from approximately 65-55 B.C.
Hippostratus is thought to have risen to power
following the death of Apollodouts II, controlling
the western half of the kingdom while another
king named Dionyzius inherited the eastern half.
Some scholars assert that Hippostratus first
ruled a kingdom to the west of Apollodotus and
then annexed his territory following his death.
While little is known about the life of
Hippostratos, we can speculate that he was a
strong ruler based on the quantity and quality of
his coinage. Although he successfully resisted
invading Indo-Scythian forces led by King Azes I,
Hippostratus was ultimately defeated and the
Scythians seized control of northern India.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of long
forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and
intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. This
coin is a memorial an ancient king and his
kingdom passed from the hands of civilization to
civilization, from generation to generation that
still appears as vibrant today as the day it was
struck.
- (C.2032)
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