Our partner for world banknotes research
| Classical Numismatic Group > Keystone Auction 17 | Auction 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 1:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 133 Online Sessions | Auction date: 23 September 2026 |
| Lot number: 5693 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Menander I Soter. Circa 155-130 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 9.47 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right, wearing crested helmet adorned with pelt and wing / Athena Alkidemos advancing left; Σ and monogram flanking. Bopearachchi 15B; SNG ANS 850-3; HGC 12, 182. Possibly ex jewelry. VF. Ex Pars Coins Bargain eSale 22 (8 July 2024), lot 23. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 133 | Auction date: 15 September 2026 |
| Lot number: 422 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. AV Stater (18mm, 8.12 g, 12h). Draped bust of Athena right, wearing crested helmet adorned with wing; all within bead-and-reel border / Owl standing right on ground line, head facing; A to left; all within bead-and-reel border. Bopearachchi 1A; MIG Type 211a (second example) = BM 1939.0512.1 ([ex R.B. Whitehead bequest] same dies); SNG ANS 682; Boston MFA Supp. 312; Treasures of Ancient Bactria (Miho Museum), 46a; HGC 12, 494. Traces of deposits in devices, numerous cleaning marks. Good VF. Extremely rare. Not suitable for encapsulation. Unlike his silver and bronze issues, the gold coinage of Menander I Soter is very rare (as is the case with Baktrian gold issues in general). This stater, with the helmeted head of Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse, is among the rarest. This series has been known since the first specimen in the BM was reported in 1888, and a handful of others have come to light over the past century. More recently, though, there has been debate regarding the authenticity of some examples of this issue. Mitchiner questioned the authenticity of some of the examples he recorded (noted below), but did not doubt the 1888 British Museum specimen. Bopearachchi, in a note on the series, repeated Mitchiner's reservation without further elucidation. Some examples, such as the two in the ANS, have been condemned, but many of the known pieces remain as likely genuine. A thorough study of this issue is currently in production for publication. 1. A/a a) Triton XXVIII, lot 425 (early obverse die state) 2. A/b (examples in order of obverse die state) a) Bombay, Prince of Wales Museum [A.S. Altekar, JNSI 11 (1949), pp. 45–6 (1917 Howell purchase)] b) CNG 102, lot 706 c) Koka, Miho Museum [Treasures of Ancient Bactria 46a] 3. A/c (examples in order of obverse die state) a) London, British Museum, inv. 1939,0512.1 [R. B. Whitehead, NC 1940, 5 = Haughton 395 (questioned by Mitchiner)] b) Oxford, Ashmolean HCR6543 (L.S. Forrer exchange 1954) c) Oxford, Ashmolean HCR653 (de S. Shortt bequest 1975) d) New York, ANS 1997.9.185 [JDL bequest, purchased from Spink = Haughton 395] e) CNG 133, lot 422 (this coin) 4. A/d a) London, British Museum, inv. 1888,1208.283 [MIG Type 211a (top photo)] transitions from these earlier examples (note the horseshoe marks behind the head) 5. A?/a? a) ANS 1955.51.100 [HWF bequest = SNG ANS 682] 6. C/f a) Boston, Museum of Fine Arts [Boston MFA Supp. 312 = Haughton Collection 397] 7. Unseen a) Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University [A.S. Altekar, JNSI 11 (1949), p. 46] Estimate: 15000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 133 Online Sessions | Auction date: 23 September 2026 |
| Lot number: 5692 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, 2.40 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / Athena Alkidemos advancing left; monogram to right. Bopearachchi 13H; SNG ANS 791-801; HGC 12, 191. Find patina. Good VF. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 609 | Auction date: 13 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 357 Price realized: 700 USD (Approx. 596 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander I Soter. Circa 155-130 BC. AR Drachm (18mm, 2.45 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / Athena Alkidemos standing left; monogram to right. Bopearachchi 13Q; SNG ANS 822-41; HGC 12, 191. Iridescent toning. EF. Obverse legend spelled MEИANΔPOY. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 607 | Auction date: 15 April 2026 |
| Lot number: 361 Price realized: 1,600 USD (Approx. 1,355 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I Megas. Circa 170-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (35mm, 16.94 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear / The Dioskouroi, holding palm fronds and couched spears, on horses rearing right; monogram to lower right. Bopearachchi 6E; SNG ANS 465; HGC 12, 131. Iridescent toning, traces of deposits, some porosity. Good VF. Estimate: 500 USD |  |
