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| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 21 | Auction date: 30 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 261 Price realized: 3,800 CHF (Approx. 4,841 USD / 4,157 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Demetrios I, circa 200-185 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 35 mm, 16.94 g, 11 h), Baktra. Diademed and draped bust of Demetrios I to right, wearing elephant skin headdress. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - ΔHMHTPIOY Youthful Herakles, nude, standing facing, crowning himself with a wreath with his right hand and holding club and lion skin his left; in inner left field, monogram. Bopearachchi Série 1F. HGC 12, 63. MIG Type 103c. SNG ANS 190. A nicely toned and beautifully struck example of this prestigious issue. Very minor doubling, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the collection of J.-L. Rossignol, French amateur d'art, ex Leu Web Auction 16, 22-24 May 2021, 1574. The silver coinage of Demetrios I is notable for depicting the king wearing an elephant headdress, symbolizing his Indian victories and his comparison to Alexander the Great. Sources suggest Demetrios led a campaign against the Mauryan Empire, besieging Pataliputra, and later expanded into Sindh and Patalena, regions Alexander never reached. His military successes were widely recognized, making him one of the few Greco-Baktrian rulers mentioned in both Greek and Indian literature. Polybios highlights Demetrios' important role when his father sent him to negotiate peace with Seleucid King Antiochos III during the siege of Baktra, marking one of the few direct interactions between the Greco-Baktrian kings and the Seleukids referenced in historiography. This lot can be shipped to a US address. Estimate: 3500 CHF |  |
