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The Coin Galleries: Indo-Greeks: Antialcidas (c. 115-95 BCE)

Antialcidas (also spelled Antialkidas) was one of the few Indo-Greek kings for whom we have evidence other than his coins. A few miles from the ancient city of Sanchi, there is a stone pillar (known as the Heliodorus pillar) that mentions him as the Greek king who sent his ambassador Heliodorus to the court of the king Bhagabhadra. At the time, the Sungas ruled in the area, so Bhagabhadra must have been a Sunga king. The purpose of the embassy is not specified.

In all likelihood, Antialcidas followed Lysias in the area of Kabul and Kapisa. The two kings share all the same monograms, and there exist two mule coins that consist of the obverse of one king and the reverse of the other. The common monograms and the mules show that the two kings used the same mints, either contemporaneously or, more probably, in immediate sequence.

     
Antialcidas Monolingual (Attic standard) Coins

Antialcidas, Silver (Attic weight) tetradrachm
Weight: 16.73 gm. Diameter: n.a. Die axis: 11h
Diademed, helmeted bust of king right, bead and reel border around
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
     Basileos Nikepherou Antialkidou ... (of King Antialcidas, the Victorious)
Reference: MIG 270a, Bop 2A
Antialcidas issued at least four different types of Attic weight tetradrachms which carried only Greek legends. These included two with the helmeted bust, as on this coin, but with two different legend arrangements (see next coin for the other arrangement), and one each with a bare-headed bust and a bust with the king wearing a kausia.He also issued at least two different monolingual drachms, a helmeted type and a kausia type. Thus his Attic coinage was the most extensive of all the Greek kings who ruled south of the Hindu Kush. Whether this was because he acquired territory in Bactria, north of the Hindu Kush, or simply an indication of a stronger nostalgia for the days when Greek kings ruled in Bactria, is not known. By this time, as far as we can tell, Bactria was under Scythian rule. (photo, courtesy CNG)

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.18 gm. Diameter: n.a. Die axis: 11h
Diademed, helmeted bust of king right, bead and reel border around
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Reference: MIG 270a, Bop 2A
This coin, offered in a recent auction sale, is a new discovery, as no monolingual helmeted drachm was known previously. The coin shows an alternative legend arrangement to the one in the previous coin; this arrangement is known on the tetradrachm.
Bilingual (Indian standard) issues

Antialcidas, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.79 gm. Diameter: 25 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed, bare-headed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus standing three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     behind Zeus, Elephant walking left with trunk raised,
     standing on elephant's head, Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand,
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 273a, Bop 6A
Indian standard, bilingual, tetradrachms are known with the bare-headed bust (this coin), the helmeted bust, (next coin) and the spearthruster bust (following two coins). No bilingual tetradrachms with the king wearing a kausia are known.

Antialcidas, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.59 gm. Diameter: 26 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed, helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus standing three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     behind Zeus, Elephant walking left with trunk raised,
     standing on elephant's head, Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand,
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG ---, Bop 7E

Antialcidas, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.62 gm. Diameter: 27 mm Die axis: 1h
Seen from behind, diademed bust of king left, holding spear in right hand
     Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus standing three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     behind Zeus, Elephant walking left with trunk raised,
     standing on elephant's head, Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand,
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 274a, Bop 8A

Antialcidas, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.13 gm. Diameter: 24 mm Die axis: 1h
Seen from behind, diademed bust of king left, holding spear in right hand
     Greek legend around: BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus standing three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     behind Zeus, Elephant walking left with trunk raised,
     standing on elephant's head, Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand,
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 274a, Bop 8A

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.40 gm. Diameter: 17 mm Die axis: 11h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 275b, Bop 9A
Indian standard, bilingual, drachms are known with the bare-headed bust (this and the next two varieties), the helmeted bust, and the kausia-topped bust. No bilingual drachms with the spearthruster bust are known.

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.46 gm. Diameter: 17 mm Die axis: 1h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 275b, Bop 9A
On this variety of the previous coin, the forepart of elephant in the reverse left field faces left rather than right. (photo, courtesy CNG)

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.40 gm. Diameter: na Die axis: 11h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     wreath and palm in right hand, forepart of elephant at left,
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 276 type, Bop 10A
On this variety, Zeus holds a wreath and palm instead of Nike. (photo, courtesy CNG)

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 1.76 gm. Diameter: 16 mm Die axis: 11h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     wreath and palm in right hand, whole elephant at left,
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 276 type, Bop 11A
On this variety, the reverse left field features a whole elephant, depicted vertically, rather than just the forepart.

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.44 gm. Diameter: 16 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed, helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 279a, Bop 12A

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.49 gm. Diameter: 17 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed, helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 279a, Bop 12A

Antialcidas, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.43 gm. Diameter: 17 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed bust of king right, wearing kausia, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Zeus enthroned three-quarters left, holding sceptre in left hand,
     Winged Nike holding wreath in right hand, forepart of elephant at left
     monogram at right, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 277a, Bop 13A

Antialcidas, Bronze Quadruple
Weight: 8.41 gm. Diameter: 26 mm Die axis: 12h
Bust of Zeus right, holding thunderbolt in right hand, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Caps and palms of the Dioscuri (sons of Zeus),
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 281a, Bop 14A
The use of the caps and palms of the Dioscuri on the reverse of the bronze coinage connects Antialkidas with Eucratides. (photo, courtesy CNG)

Antialcidas, Bronze Double
Weight: 4.00 gm. Diameter: 22 mm Die axis: 12h
Bust of Zeus right, holding thunderbolt in right hand, Greek legend around:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Caps and palms of the Dioscuri (sons of Zeus),
     monogram at left, Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 282a, Bop 15A
This is one of the few Indo-Greek bronze coins in multiple denominations.

Antialcidas, Bronze Quadruple
Weight: 7.65 gm. Dimensions: 18 x 17 mm Die axis: 12h
Bust of Zeus right, holding thunderbolt in right hand, Greek legend on three sides:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ / NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Caps and palms of the Dioscuri, monogram at left,
     Kharoshthi legend on three sides: maharajasa / jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 280b, Bop 16B

Antialcidas, Bronze Quadruple
Weight: 9.36 gm. Dimensions: na Die axis: na
Bust of Zeus right, thunderbolt over left shoulder, Greek legend on three sides:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ / NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Caps and palms of the Dioscuri, monogram at left,
     Kharoshthi legend on three sides: maharajasa / jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 280c, Bop 17C
On this variety, the thunderbolt is perched on Zeus's left shoulder, rather than being held in his right hand. (photo, courtesy CNG)

Antialcidas, Bronze Quadruple
Weight: 8.19 gm. Dimensions: 17 x 20 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend on three sides:
     BAΣIΛEΩΣ / NIKHΦOPOY / ANTIAΛKIΔOY
Elephant with raised trunk right, monogram at right,
     Kharoshthi legend on three sides: maharajasa / jayadharasa / amtialikidasa
Reference: MIG 283a, Bop 18A
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