Obverse: Head of Agathokles Crowned with a Diadem
Reverse: Nude Zeus Advancing Left Holding Aegis and Thunderbolt
Like many of the Bactrian kings, little is know about the life of Agathokles. He is believed to have risen to the throne around 185 B.C., either alongside or following another king named Pantaleon, whom may or may not have been his brother. Agathokles is known today primarily through his extensive coinage, among which is an interesting series of “pedigree” dynasty coins that link him to Alexander the Great as well as other Bactrian kings, including the founder of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Diodotus. Some historians have taken a critical view of these coins, suggesting that Agathokles might have been an usurper eager to establish links to legitimate rulers in order to prop up his authority. Agathokles also issued a series of bilingual coins with inscriptions either in Brahmi, Greek, or Kharoshthi and various symbols representing the Buddhist and Hindu faiths, demonstrating the extent to which early Greco-Bactrian rulers went in order to accommodate the cultures of the natives whose lands they dominated.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after us. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and place, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of long forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. This coin is a memorial an ancient king and his empire passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation that still appears as vibrant today as the day it was struck.