Tradition · Indo-Greek silver coinage · India
Indo-Greek bilingual drachms
Also known as Yavana drachm, Menander coin
Silver drachms struck by the Indo-Greek kings of Bactria and north-western India from about 180 BCE, carrying a Greek legend and portrait on the obverse and a Kharoṣṭhī (sometimes Brāhmī) legend on the reverse. The bilingual format is India's earliest attested royal coin portraiture and the earliest datable use of Kharoṣṭhī on currency. Menander I, Demetrius, Antialcidas and the Agathokleian issues span the series; Taxila and Pushkalavati were the principal mints. The format continued under the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians.
- Periods
- Second Urbanisation, Classical and Puranic Age
- Function
- Trade & production
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- Minted hereTakshashilā / Taxila
The Indo-Greek kings of Bactria and the north-west ran their principal mint at Taxila from the 2nd century BCE onwards. The silver drachms carry a Greek legend and royal portrait on the obverse — the earliest attested Indian royal coin portraiture — and a Kharoṣṭhī legend on the reverse. Menander, Antialcidas and the Agathokleian issues all came from the Taxila dies.
On these journeys
Sources
Standard reference; Wikipedia Coinage of India.
Open Indo-Greek bilingual drachms in the repository →