Sale: Triton VIII, Lot: 642. Estimate $20000.  Closing Date: Monday, 10 January 2005.  Sold For $15500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of BAKTRIA. Apollodotos I. Circa 180/174-165/160 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.04 gm, 12h). Attic Standard. Diademed and draped bust right, wearing kausia / BASILEWS APOLLODOTOU, Athena seated left, holding Nike in extended right hand, spear in left, resting her left elbow on shield; monogram in exergue. Bopearachchi Série 1A; Bopearachchi & Rahman 193 (same dies); SNG ANS -; MIG -; C.Y. Petitot-Biehler, "Trésor d'Aï Khanoum," RN 1975, pg. 37 (pl. V, 50) (same obverse die); MACW -. Good VF, minor roughness. Extremely rare; seven or eight known specimens. The only denomination with a portrait of Apollodotos. ($20,000)

Apollodotos I 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. One of the rarest Hellenistic portrait coins.