Eukratides I Silver Obol Diademed Bust EF

Eukratides I ‘The Great’ was perhaps the most important Greco-Bactrian king in history. He reigned from 171–145 BC, conquering large parts of northern India and minting a vast and prestigious coinage, suggesting a rule of considerable importance and prosperity. We have just bought a small group of these delightful silver Obols from his reign, representing two different obverse types. The first type shows his diademed and draped bust on the obverse (Extremely Fine). The reverse shows the caps of the Dioskouri with palm fronds above and a monogram below with the legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ / EΥKΡATIΔOΥ vertically at the sides. Our records show that we have only ever handled four of these scarce coins!