Obverse: Heroic Bust of the King Crowned with a
Diadem
Reverse: The Dioskouroi on Rearing Horses
The significance of Eukratides I’s rule is in part
suggested by the great amount of coinage
bearing his image, implying that his reign was
both long and economically prosperous. It is
believed that he came to power around 171 B.C.
after overthrowing the Euthydemid Dynasty that
had previously controlled Bactria. Having
secured the throne, Eukratides launched an
invasion of northwest India, a territory under the
authority of the so-called Indo-Greek
Kingdoms. After advancing as far as the Indus
River, Eukratides’ army was eventually repelled.
Meanwhile, as his forces were tied up in the east,
Bactria was assaulted from the west by the
Parthians under King Mithradates I. This
campaign ended with the Parthians seizing two
neighboring provinces. History records that
Eukratides was murdered around 145 B.C. by his
own son while en route back from India.
Following his death, civil war broke out among
various rival factions of the dynasty competing
for power. This instability in turn led to
numerous ethnic uprisings throughout the
kingdom, eventually leading to the collapse of
the Bactrian Kingdom and effectively making
Eukratides the last great Greco-Bactrian king.
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 to 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.2295)
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