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Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 608Auction date: 29 April 2026
Lot number: 328

Price realized: 100 USD   (Approx. 85 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Strato I Soter. Circa 105-85/0 BC. Æ (25mm, 7.46 g, 12h). Laureate and draped bust of Apollo right, hair in long plait / Quiver with bow behind; monogram to left. Bopearachchi 32C; SNG ANS 1024; HGC 12, 347; cf. CNG E-580, lot 252 (for obv. [same die]). Dark brown surfaces, earthen deposits, die rust and pitting. VF. Very rare.


Estimate: 100 USD

Match 1:
Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 619Auction date: 21 October 2026
Lot number: 394

Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot
Lot description:


BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Strato I Soter. Circa 105-85/0 BC. Æ (19x18mm, 8.42 g, 12h). Square module. Draped bust of Herakles right, club over shoulder / Nike advancing right; trace of monogram to lower right. Cf. Bopearachchi 29C; cf. SNG ANS 1015-6; HGC 12, 349. Earthen dark brown patina, areas of weakness. VF.

Ex Album Onlie Auction 31 (24 March 2025), lot 13.


Estimate: 100 USD

Match 2:
Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 618Auction date: 7 October 2026
Lot number: 365

Price realized: 550 USD   (Approx. 491 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Strato I Soter. Circa 105-85/0 BC. Æ (24x25mm, 9.85 g, 12h). Apollo standing facing slightly left, holding arrow and leaning on bow set on ground / Tripod; monogram to left. Bopearachchi 31C; SNG ANS 1019; HGC 12, 348. Earthen brown surfaces, numerous cleaning marks. Good VF.


Estimate: 100 USD

Match 3:
Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 133Auction date: 15 September 2026
Lot number: 427

Price realized: 11,000 USD   (Approx. 9,534 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Strato I Soter. Circa 105-85/0 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 9.80 g, 12h). Diademed and draped beardless bust right; one diadem tie angled / Athena Alkidemos standing left, brandishing thunderbolt and aegis; monogram to inner left. Bopearachchi 9D; cf. Haughton, Silver 1 and pl. VIII, 3 (same dies); Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS –; MIG Type 320a; HGC 12, 324. Toned, hairlines. EF. Very rare.

Like most Indo-Greek rulers, Strato I is unknown to history apart from his coins, which suggest his rule encompassed Gandhara and the Punjab. His earliest coins show a youthful bust jugate with Agathokleia, possibly his mother. His solo portraits show a somewhat older visage, some sporting a broad-rimmed helmet like that of Eukratides. Athena appears in several poses on the reverses of his coins, here in the traditional stance of Athena Alkidemos, preparing to hurl a thunderbolt.

Estimate: 2000 USD

Match 4:
Classical Numismatic Group > Keystone Auction 17Auction date: 22 July 2026
Lot number: 58

Price realized: 1,100 USD   (Approx. 964 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


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."

Estimate: 300 USD

Match 5:
Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 619Auction date: 21 October 2026
Lot number: 391

Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot
Lot description:


BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander I Soter. Circa 155-130 BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 2.42 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / Athena Alkidemos advancing left; monogram to left. Bopearachchi 13H; SNG ANS 791-801; HGC 12, 191. Deeply toned. EF.

Ex Pars Coins inventory G019-29.


Estimate: 100 USD