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Diomedes seems to have followed Philoxenus, as he used five of the six monograms used by the latter. However,
Diomedes seems to have a connection with Eucratides, as he uses as his reverse type (and obverse type on his bronze coinage) the Dioscuri,
who had also been featured by Eucratides. Whether this was because of a direct family connection between Diomedes and Eucratides, or
because, like Eucratides, Diomedes wanted to highlight his royal ancestors, is not known.
In addition to the Indian-standard bilingual coins illustrated below, Diomedes issued two Attic weight monolingual coins modelled on the coins
of Eucratides. One was a bare-headed type and the other a helmeted type. The reverses looked just like those of Eucratides, with the riding
Dioscuri and the legends arranged in the same way as on the coins of Eucratides.
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Diomedes |
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Diomedes, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.46 gm. Diameter: 28 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Basileos Soteros Diomedou ... (of King Diomedes, the savior)
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 347a, Bop 3A
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Compare the reverse of this coin to those of
Eucratides I.
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Diomedes, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.26 gm. Diameter: 27 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Basileos Soteros Diomedou ... (of King Diomedes, the savior)
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 347a, Bop 3A
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Diomedes, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.28 gm. Diameter: 18 mm Die axis: 3h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 348a, Bop 4B
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The die axis on this coin is at 3 o'clock, a rare departure from the very consistent 12 o'clock die
axis on all Indo-Greek coins.
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Diomedes, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.15 gm. Diameter: 26 mm Die axis: 1h
Diademed and helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 349a, Bop 5A
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Diomedes, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.42 gm. Diameter: 17 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed and helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 350a, Bop 6A
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Diomedes, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 8.66 gm. Diameter: 27 mm Die axis: 12h
Seen from behind, diademed and helmeted bust of king left,
holding spear in right hand, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 351a, Bop 7A
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No drachms of this type are known. (photo, courtesy CNG)
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Diomedes, Silver tetradrachm
Weight: 9.36 gm. Diameter: 26 mm Die axis: 12h
Seen from behind, diademed and helmeted bust of king left,
holding spear in right hand, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri riding horses prancing right, carrying spears and palms
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 351a, Bop 7A
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Diomedes, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.31 gm. Diameter: 18 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri standing facing, holding spears,
monogram below at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 352 var, Bop 8A
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This coin features the Dioscuri standing instead of riding, a rendition also used by Eucratides. No
tetradrachms of this type are known.
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Diomedes, Silver drachm
Weight: 2.49 gm. Diameter: 16 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed and helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri standing facing, holding spears,
monogram at left,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 353a, Bop 9A
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No tetradrachms of this type are known either.
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Diomedes, Silver drachm
Weight: 1.89 gm. Diameter: 16.5 mm Die axis: 12h
Diademed and helmeted bust of king right, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Dioscuri standing facing, holding spears,
monogram at right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 353a var, Bop 9A var
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A variant of the previous type where the monogram is in the right field rather than the left.
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Diomedes, Bronze Quadruple
Weight: 8.26 gm. Dimensions: 20 x 18 mm Die axis: 12h
Dioscuri standing facing, holding spears, Greek legend around:
BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΔIOMHΔOY
Humped bull walking right,
Kharoshthi legend around: maharajasa / tratarasa / diyametasa
Reference: MIG 354, Bop 10
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The monogram is normally below the bull on the reverse; it is off the flan on this specimen.
This is the only bronze type issued by Diomedes and is relatively scarce.
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