Kings of Bactria, Sophytes 325-300 BC AR Drachm minted in Oxus region

ANCIENT GREEK INDIA : Kings of Bactria, Sophytes 325-300 Drachm, Bactria 325-300, AR 3.87 g. Head of Sophytes r. wearing wreathed helmet with cheek-guard. Rev. ΣΩΦYTOY Cockerel standing r.; behind, caduceus. VERY RARE old cabinet tone and About Extremely Fine to Very Fine + SIMILAR TYPE WAS SOLD FOR 9500 CHF. A most interesting group of tetradrachms, didrachms, drachms, hemidrachms and diobols with designs derived from the coinage of Athens has long been recognized as emanating from Bactria. This coinage of the late 4th or early 3rd Centuries B.C. is so tightly knit in terms of its style, fabric, and design peculiarities that there is no mistaking it for the official issues of Athens. Beyond the fact that they are of Bactrian origin, all other aspects of their attribution are topics of continuing debate. They may have been ‘anonymous’ issues of Greek colonists in Bactria prior to Alexander’s conquests, or, more likely, they were struck afterward, perhaps by Sophytes or Stamenes (Ditamenes). Sophytes apparently held a position of authority in Bactria after the Macedonian conquest, and is known also for coins of a different, but related type that bear his name. Stamenes was appointed Satrap of Babylonia by Alexander in 328/7 B.C., after the death of Mazaeus, and though his subsequent career is unknown, Nicolet-Pierre and Amandry proposed that some monograms on the Bactrian types may indicate he later served as satrap of Bactria. There are many variants among the Athenian-style coins of Bactria. The present issue copies the types of Athens closely, though it is stylistically distinct and adds to the obverse a monogram, and to the reverse a ship’s prow and a vine from which hang a leaf and a grape cluster. The other major type derived from Athens shows on its obverse a virtually identical image of Athena, right down to the peculiar details of Athena’s helmet, the dotted tuft of hair, and (often) the presence of a monogram composed of Greek letters. (Interestingly, this monogram – or a very close variant of it – is also is found on the enigmatic gold staters of another shadowy ruler of this region, Andragoras). The reverse of the related series is markedly different than that of the present coin, for on its reverse an eagle stands left. A unifying element, however, is present: the eagle issues also bear the distinctive symbol of a vine from which a leaf and grape cluster hang, making it virtually certain that these two major types are related. Interestingly, some of the owl types are struck to the Attic weight standard and others to a lighter, local standard, whereas all of the eagle issues appear to have been struck to the local standard.