Sale: Triton VII, Lot: 696. Estimate $20000.  Closing Date: Monday, 12 January 2004.  Sold For $24000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GREEK KINGS of BAKTRIA. Apollodotos I. Circa 180-160 BC. AR Tetradrachm (15.72 gm). Attic standard. Diademed and draped bust right, wearing kausia; bead and reel border / BASILEWS APOLLODOTOU, Athena seated left, holding Nike, who crowns the king’s name, and a spear, resting her left elbow on shield; monogram in exergue. Bopearachchi pg.188, Série 1A (pl.11, A) = C.Y. Petitot-Biehler, "Trésor d'Aï Khanoum" in RN 1975, pg. 37 (pl. V, 50) (same dies); SNG ANS -; MIG -; Rahman 193 (same obverse die)/194 (same reverse die). Toned EF, with scattered areas of light porosity, beautifully struck on a broad flan. Extremely rare; seven or eight known specimens, of which this is probably the finest. A magnificent portrait, powerful, and elegant, and the only denomination with a portrait of Apollodotos. ($20,000)

Apollodotos I (alternate dates circa 174-165 BC) ruled the southern territories of the Baktrian kingdom as either an associate or subordinate of Antimachos I. Almost all of his coinage adhered to south Indian traditions, with bi-lingual Greek and Kharosthi legends and non-portrait types, either elephant and bull on his silver, or Apollo and tripod on the bronze. Apollodotos introduced the Indian standard silver drachm of circa 2.42 grams into the Baktrian coinage system, which gradually replaced the heavier Attic weight standard throughout the realm. His only Attic weight coinage was of scarce hemidrachms of Indian type and the truly rare portrait tetradrachms. Judging from his coinage, which indeed comprises most of our scant evidence for his reign, Apollodotos was content to administer his territories south of the Hindu Kush and did not engage in the cut-throat dynastic politics of his era.