BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander I Soter. Circa 155-130 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 9.80 g, 12h). Good VF.

Keystone 17 – The W. Toliver Besson Collection
Lot: 58. Estimated: $ 300

Oriental Greek, Silver

Sold For $ 1 100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander I Soter. Circa 155-130 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 9.80 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right, wearing crested helmet adorned with pelt, wing, and gorgoneion / Athena Alkidemos advancing left; Σ and monogram flanking. Bopearachchi 15B; SNG ANS 850-3; HGC 12, 182. Toned, small obverse die break, small reverse lamination. Good VF.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection. Ex Heritage 3016 (14 April 2016), lot 29166.

Menander I Soter, known as Melinda in Indian lore, is likely the most famous Greek ruler of the far east, and is the only one whose reign left an indelible imprint on Indian historical traditions. His reign overlapped and extended beyond that of Eukratides I Megas in Baktria, apparently beginning circa 155 BC in the northern Punjab. His was reputedly born near Sagala (modern Sialkot, Pakistan) and later made that city his capital. How he rose to power is unrecorded, but he successfully resisted the efforts of Eukratides to invade and absorb this region in about 150 BC. When Eukratides was assassinated in 145 BC, Menander counter-invaded and seized all of that king’s Indian possessions. Ultimately he ruled a large swath of northern India that extended as far south as the Hindu holy city of Mathura. An enduring tradition paints Menander as a convert to Buddhism, and a long conversation between the king and a Buddhist sage named Nagasena is recorded in a text called the Melinda Panha (”Questions of Melinda”). He is described as “learned, eloquent, wise, and able, and a faithful observer... of all the various acts of devotion and ceremony” required by the faith. “Many were the arts and sciences he knew... as a disputant he was hard to equal, harder still to overcome.” It concludes, “as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India. He was rich too, mighty in wealth and prosperity, and the number of his armed hosts knew no end."

Closing Date and Time: 22 July 2026 at 10:19:00 ET.



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