Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara - Revision history

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2025-06-30T20:07:59Z

refine details for consistency to improve readability

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:37, 1 July 2025
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	[[File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|[[Taxila]] local single-~~die~~ coinage. (220-185 BCE). This early coins displays an [[arched-hill symbol]], a tree-in-railing, a [[Nandipada]] and a [[Swastika]]. The reverse is blank.<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice">[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 CNG Coins coin notice]</ref>]]		[[File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|[[Taxila]] local single-dye coinage. (220-185 BCE). This early coins displays an [[arched-hill symbol]], a tree-in-railing, a [[Nandipada]] and a [[Swastika]]. The reverse is blank.<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice">{{Cite web \|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 \|title=CNG Coins coin notice \|access-date=2016-12-12 \|archive-date=2016-12-20 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220220036/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 \|url-status=live }}</ref>]]
	The '''Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara''' refers to the period of coinage production in [[Gandhara]], following the breakup of the [[Maurya Empire]] (321-185 BCE). When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which started to strike their own coins, defining a period of [[Post-Mauryan coinage]] that ends with the rise of the [[Gupta Empire]] in the 4th century CE. This phenomenon was particularly precocious and significant in the area of [[Gandhara]] in the northwest, and more particularly in the city of [[Taxila]],<ref name="Brown">[https://archive.org/details/TheCoinsOfIndia_201512 The Coins Of India, by Brown, C.J. p.13-20]</ref> in modern-day [[Pakistan]].		The '''Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara''' refers to the period of coinage production in [[Gandhara]], following the breakup of the [[Maurya Empire]] (321-185 BCE). When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which started to strike their own coins, defining a period of [[Post-Mauryan coinage]] that ends with the rise of the [[Gupta Empire]] in the 4th century CE. This phenomenon was particularly precocious and significant in the area of [[Gandhara]] in the northwest, and more particularly in the city of [[Taxila]],<ref name="Brown">[https://archive.org/details/TheCoinsOfIndia_201512 The Coins Of India, by Brown, C.J. p.13-20]</ref> in modern-day [[Pakistan]].

	==Technology==		==Technology==
	===Punch-marked coinage===		===Punch-marked coinage===
	[[File:Gandhara1.JPG\|thumb\|Coins of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round), Taxila-Gandhara region, [[Wiktionary:circa\|c.]] 600–300 BCE. This coinage was minted under [[Achaemenid]] administration in Gandhara.<ref name=JC>{{cite book \|last1=Errington \|first1=Elizabeth \|last2=Trust \|first2=Ancient India and Iran \|last3=Museum \|first3=Fitzwilliam \|title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan \|date=1992 \|publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust \|isbn=9780951839911 \|pages=~~57-59~~ \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ \|language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309206 CNG Coins]</ref>]]		[[File:Gandhara1.JPG\|thumb\|Coins of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round), Taxila-Gandhara region, [[Wiktionary:circa\|c.]] 600–300 BCE. This coinage was minted under [[Achaemenid]] administration in Gandhara.<ref name=JC>{{cite book \|last1=Errington \|first1=Elizabeth \|last2=Trust \|first2=Ancient India and Iran \|last3=Museum \|first3=Fitzwilliam \|title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan \|date=1992 \|publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust \|isbn=9780951839911 \|pages=57–59 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ \|language=en \|access-date=2023-08-24 \|archive-date=2023-08-24 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824044021/https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ \|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web \|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309206 \|title=CNG Coins \|access-date=2023-08-24 \|archive-date=2018-07-29 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729061431/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309206 \|url-status=live }}</ref>]]
	{{main\|Punch-marked coins}}		{{main\|Punch-marked coins}}
	These political changes were accompanied by technological changes in coin production techniques. Before the collapse of the Maurya Empire, the main type of coinage was [[punch-marked coins]]. After manufacturing a sheet of silver or silver alloys, coins were cut out to the proper weight, and then impressed by small punch-dies. Typically from 5 to 10 punch dies could be impressed on one coin.<ref name="Brown"/>		These political changes were accompanied by technological changes in coin production techniques. Before the collapse of the Maurya Empire, the main type of coinage was [[punch-marked coins]]. After manufacturing a sheet of silver or silver alloys, coins were cut out to the proper weight, and then impressed by small punch-dies. Typically from 5 to 10 punch dies could be impressed on one coin.<ref name="Brown"/>
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	==Coin types==		==Coin types==
	===Single-die coins===		===Single-die coins===
	The most ancient of the coins are those that were die-cast on one side only, the other side remaining blank.<ref name="Brown"/> They seem to start as early 220 BCE, that is, already in the last decades of the Maurya Empire.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 CNG Coins notice]</ref> Some of these coins were created before the [[Indo-Greek]] invasions (dated to circa 185 BCE, start of the [[Yavana era]]), while most of the others were created later. These coins incorporate a number of symbols, in a way which is very reminiscent of the ~~prievous~~ punch-marked coins, except that this time the technology used was cast single die-struck coinage.<ref name="Jain">Ancient Indian Coinage, Rekha Jain, D.K.Printworld Ltd, p.114</ref>		The most ancient of the coins are those that were die-cast on one side only, the other side remaining blank.<ref name="Brown"/> They seem to start as early 220 BCE, that is, already in the last decades of the Maurya Empire.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 CNG Coins notice]</ref> Some of these coins were created before the [[Indo-Greek]] invasions (dated to circa 185 BCE, start of the [[Yavana era]]), while most of the others were created later. These coins incorporate a number of symbols, in a way which is very reminiscent of the previous punch-marked coins, except that this time the technology used was cast single die-struck coinage.<ref name="Jain">Ancient Indian Coinage, Rekha Jain, D.K.Printworld Ltd, p.114</ref>

	====Single-die coins before Indo-Greek invasions (220-185 BCE)====		====Single-die coins before Indo-Greek invasions (220-185 BCE)====
	<gallery>		<gallery>
	File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC Column and Hill.jpg\|Taxila single-~~die~~ local coinage. Column and [[arched-hill symbol]] (220-185 BCE).		File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC Column and Hill.jpg\|Taxila single-dye local coinage. Column and [[arched-hill symbol]] (220-185 BCE).
	File:Taxila (local coinage) Circa 220-185 BC Karshapana.jpg\|Taxila single-~~die~~ local coinage. Pile of stones, hill, river and [[Swastika]] (220-185 BCE).		File:Taxila (local coinage) Circa 220-185 BC Karshapana.jpg\|Taxila single-dye local coinage. Pile of stones, hill, river and [[Swastika]] (220-185 BCE).
	Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC. Hill and River.jpg\|Taxila single-dye coin. Pile of stones, hill, river and unknown symbols (220-185 BCE).		Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC. Hill and River.jpg\|Taxila single-dye coin. Pile of stones, hill, river and unknown symbols (220-185 BCE).
	File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg\|Taxila local single-~~die~~ coinage (220-185 BCE).<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice"/>		File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg\|Taxila local single-dye coinage (220-185 BCE).<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice"/>
	</gallery>		</gallery>

	====Single-~~die~~ coins after the Indo-Greek invasions (185 BCE)====		====Single-dye coins after the Indo-Greek invasions (185 BCE)====
	The year 185 BCE is the approximate date the [[Greco-Bactrians]] invaded India. This date marks an evolution in the design of single-die cast coins, as deities and realistic animals were introduced.<ref name="Jain"/> At the same time coinage technology also evolved, as double-die coins (engraved on both sides, obverse and reverse) started to appear.<ref name="Jain"/> The archaeological excavations of coins have shown that these coins, as well as the new double die coins, were contemporary with those of the [[Indo-Greeks]].<ref name="Jain"/> According to [[Osmund Bopearachchi]] these coins, and particularly those depicting the goddess [[Lakshmi]], were probably minted by [[Demetrius I of Bactria\|Demetrius I]] following his invasion of Gandhara.<ref name="Bopearachchi">[[Osmund Bopearachchi]], 2016, [https://www.academia.edu/25807197/Emergence_of_Vi%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87u_and_%C5%9Aiva_Images_in_India_Numismatic_and_Sculptural_Evidence Emergence of Viṣṇu and Śiva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence]</ref>		The year 185 BCE is the approximate date the [[Greco-Bactrians]] invaded India. This date marks an evolution in the design of single-die cast coins, as deities and realistic animals were introduced.<ref name="Jain"/> At the same time coinage technology also evolved, as double-die coins (engraved on both sides, obverse and reverse) started to appear.<ref name="Jain"/> The archaeological excavations of coins have shown that these coins, as well as the new double die coins, were contemporary with those of the [[Indo-Greeks]].<ref name="Jain"/> According to [[Osmund Bopearachchi]] these coins, and particularly those depicting the goddess [[Lakshmi]], were probably minted by [[Demetrius I of Bactria\|Demetrius I]] following his invasion of Gandhara.<ref name="Bopearachchi">[[Osmund Bopearachchi]], 2016, [https://www.academia.edu/25807197/Emergence_of_Vi%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87u_and_%C5%9Aiva_Images_in_India_Numismatic_and_Sculptural_Evidence Emergence of Viṣṇu and Śiva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123154459/http://www.academia.edu/25807197/Emergence_of_Vi%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87u_and_%C5%9Aiva_Images_in_India_Numismatic_and_Sculptural_Evidence \|date=2017-11-23 }}</ref>
	<gallery>		<gallery>
	File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC.Hill and Tree.jpg\|Taxila coin with hill and tree-in-railing (185-168 BCE).		File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC.Hill and Tree.jpg\|Taxila coin with hill and tree-in-railing (185-168 BCE).
	File:Taxila single dye coin.jpg\|Taxila single-~~die~~ coin with [[Lakshmi]] and [[arched-hill symbol]] (185-160 BCE).		File:Taxila single dye coin.jpg\|Taxila single-dye coin with [[Lakshmi]] and [[arched-hill symbol]] (185-160 BCE).
	File:Taxila single die coin with bull.jpg\|Taxila single ~~die~~ coin with bull and arched-hill symbol (185-168 BCE).		File:Taxila single die coin with bull.jpg\|Taxila single dye coin with bull and arched-hill symbol (185-168 BCE).
	File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Karshapana.jpg\|Taxila coin (185-168 BCE).		File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Karshapana.jpg\|Taxila coin (185-168 BCE).
	File:TaxilaCoin200-100BCE.JPG\|Taxila coin.		File:TaxilaCoin200-100BCE.JPG\|Taxila coin.
	File:TaxilaCoinBM.JPG\|Taxila coin.		File:TaxilaCoinBM.JPG\|Taxila coin.ye
	</gallery>		</gallery>

	===Double-~~die~~ coins (185 BCE onward)===		===Double-d coins (185 BCE onward)===
	[[File:Triratna on Taxila coin 185-168 BCE detail.jpg\|thumb\|[[Triratna]] symbol on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).]]		[[File:Triratna on Taxila coin 185-168 BCE detail.jpg\|thumb\|[[Triratna]] symbol on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).]]
	Progressively, after 185 BCE and the Greek invasion, coins were cast on both sides.<ref name="Brown"/> These coins are generally anonymous, and can carry [[Brahmi]] or [[Kharoshthi]] legends. These coins have quite specific types, depending mainly on the region where they were struck. Coins with a lion device are mainly known from [[Taxila]], while coins with other symbols such as the [[Swastika]] or the [[Bodhi tree]] are attributed to the region of [[Gandhara]].<ref name="Brown"/> These coins were cast during the rule of Indo-Greek kings [[Pantaleon]] and [[Agathocles]] in the area of [[Gandhara]], and they are generally contemporary with those of Indo-Greek rulers.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=23986 CNG notice]</ref><ref name="Jain"/>		Progressively, after 185 BCE and the Greek invasion, coins were cast on both sides.<ref name="Brown"/> These coins are generally anonymous, and can carry [[Brahmi]] or [[Kharoshthi]] legends. These coins have quite specific types, depending mainly on the region where they were struck. Coins with a lion device are mainly known from [[Taxila]], while coins with other symbols such as the [[Swastika]] or the [[Bodhi tree]] are attributed to the region of [[Gandhara]].<ref name="Brown"/> These coins were cast during the rule of Indo-Greek kings [[Pantaleon]] and [[Agathocles]] in the area of [[Gandhara]], and they are generally contemporary with those of Indo-Greek rulers.<ref>{{Cite web \|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=23986 \|title=CNG notice \|access-date=2016-12-13 \|archive-date=2016-12-20 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220225512/https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=23986 \|url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jain"/>

	====Symbolic designs====		====Symbolic designs====
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	===Legends===		===Legends===
	Several coins of king [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]] use the [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''Akathukreyasa'' "[[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]]" on the obverse, and ''Hirañasame'' on the reverse (as one of the known coins of Taxila above). ''Hirañasame'' would mean "The Golden Hermitage", an area of [[Taxila]] (preferred interpretation), or if read '''Hitajasame'' would mean "Good-fame possessing", a direct translation of "Agathokles"<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi p.176">Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi, p.176</ref><ref>Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals, Parmanand Gupta, Concept Publishing Company, 1989, p.126 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&pg=PA126]</ref>		Several coins of king [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]] use the [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''Akathukreyasa'' "[[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]]" on the obverse, and ''Hirañasame'' on the reverse (as one of the known coins of Taxila above). ''Hirañasame'' would mean "The Golden Hermitage", an area of [[Taxila]] (preferred interpretation), or if read '''Hitajasame'' would mean "Good-fame possessing", a direct translation of "Agathokles"<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi p.176">Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi, p.176</ref><ref>Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals, Parmanand Gupta, Concept Publishing Company, 1989, p.126 [https://books.google.com/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&pg=PA126] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824044045/https://books.google.com/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&pg=PA126\|date=2023-08-24}}</ref>
	<gallery>		<gallery>
	File:Pantaleon with Lakshmi and Lion.jpg\|Coinage of [[Pantaleon]] with dancing woman ([[Lakshmi]]?) and lion.		File:Pantaleon with Lakshmi and Lion.jpg\|Coinage of [[Pantaleon]] with dancing woman ([[Lakshmi]]?) and lion.
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	File:AgathoklesCoinage.jpg\|Indian coinage of [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]], with Buddhist lion and [[Lakshmi]].		File:AgathoklesCoinage.jpg\|Indian coinage of [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]], with Buddhist lion and [[Lakshmi]].
	File:Coin of the Bactrian King Agathokles.jpg\|Coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]] with [[Hindu]] deities: [[Vasudeva]]-[[Krishna]] and [[Balarama]]-[[Samkarshana]] (found at [[Ai-Khanoum]]).		File:Coin of the Bactrian King Agathokles.jpg\|Coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria\|Agathocles]] with [[Hindu]] deities: [[Vasudeva]]-[[Krishna]] and [[Balarama]]-[[Samkarshana]] (found at [[Ai-Khanoum]]).
	File:Demetrius I MET coin.jpg~~\|thumb~~\|Coin of Demetrius I. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].		File:Demetrius I MET coin.jpg\|Coin of Demetrius I. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].
	</gallery>		</gallery>

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← Older revision	Revision as of 18:50, 1 January 2022
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imported>BD2412: /* Punch-marked coinage */Fixing links to disambiguation pages, replaced: [[circa| → [[Wiktionary:circa|

2021-07-15T05:04:58Z

Punch-marked coinage: Fixing links to disambiguation pages, replaced: [[circa| → [[Wiktionary:circa|

New page

[[File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Taxila]] local single-die coinage. (220-185 BCE). This early coins displays an [[arched-hill symbol]], a tree-in-railing, a [[Nandipada]] and a [[Swastika]]. The reverse is blank.<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice">[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 CNG Coins coin notice]</ref>]]
The '''Post-Mauryan coinage of Gandhara''' refers to the period of coinage production in [[Gandhara]], following the breakup of the [[Maurya Empire]] (321-185 BCE). When Mauryan central power disappeared, several small independent entities were formed, which started to strike their own coins, defining a period of [[Post-Mauryan coinage]] that ends with the rise of the [[Gupta Empire]] in the 4th century CE. This phenomenon was particularly precocious and significant in the area of [[Gandhara]] in the northwest, and more particularly in the city of [[Taxila]],<ref name="Brown">[https://archive.org/details/TheCoinsOfIndia_201512 The Coins Of India, by Brown, C.J. p.13-20]</ref> in modern-day [[Pakistan]].

==Technology==
===Punch-marked coinage===
[[File:Gandhara1.JPG|thumb|Coins of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round), Taxila-Gandhara region, [[Wiktionary:circa|c.]] 600–300 BCE. This coinage was minted under [[Achaemenid]] administration in Gandhara.<ref name=JC>{{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Trust |first2=Ancient India and Iran |last3=Museum |first3=Fitzwilliam |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |date=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=9780951839911 |pages=57-59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=309206 CNG Coins]</ref>]]
{{main|Punch-marked coins}}
These political changes were accompanied by technological changes in coin production techniques. Before the collapse of the Maurya Empire, the main type of coinage was [[punch-marked coins]]. After manufacturing a sheet of silver or silver alloys, coins were cut out to the proper weight, and then impressed by small punch-dies. Typically from 5 to 10 punch dies could be impressed on one coin.<ref name="Brown"/>

===Cast die-struck coinage===
The types of coins were replaced at the fall of the Maurya Empire by cast, die-struck coins.<ref>Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History Book Review Trust, New Delhi, Popular Prakashan, 1995, p.151 [https://books.google.com/books?id=J4-kubt-SsoC&pg=PA151]</ref> Each individual coins was first cast by pouring a molten metal, usually copper or silver, into a cavity formed by two molds. These were then usually die-struck while still hot, first on just one side, and then on the two sides at a later period. The coin devices are Indian, but it is thought that this coin technology was introduced from the West, possibly from the neighboring [[Greco-Bactrian]] kingdom.

==Coin types==
===Single-die coins===
The most ancient of the coins are those that were die-cast on one side only, the other side remaining blank.<ref name="Brown"/> They seem to start as early 220 BCE, that is, already in the last decades of the Maurya Empire.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=259870 CNG Coins notice]</ref> Some of these coins were created before the [[Indo-Greek]] invasions (dated to circa 185 BCE, start of the [[Yavana era]]), while most of the others were created later. These coins incorporate a number of symbols, in a way which is very reminiscent of the prievous punch-marked coins, except that this time the technology used was cast single die-struck coinage.<ref name="Jain">Ancient Indian Coinage, Rekha Jain, D.K.Printworld Ltd, p.114</ref>

====Single-die coins before Indo-Greek invasions (220-185 BCE)====
<gallery>
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC Column and Hill.jpg|Taxila single-die local coinage. Column and [[arched-hill symbol]] (220-185 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage) Circa 220-185 BC Karshapana.jpg|Taxila single-die local coinage. Pile of stones, hill, river and [[Swastika]] (220-185 BCE).
Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC. Hill and River.jpg|Taxila single-dye coin. Pile of stones, hill, river and unknown symbols (220-185 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 220-185 BC.jpg|Taxila local single-die coinage (220-185 BCE).<ref name="CNG Coins coin notice"/>
</gallery>

====Single-die coins after the Indo-Greek invasions (185 BCE)====
The year 185 BCE is the approximate date the [[Greco-Bactrians]] invaded India. This date marks an evolution in the design of single-die cast coins, as deities and realistic animals were introduced.<ref name="Jain"/> At the same time coinage technology also evolved, as double-die coins (engraved on both sides, obverse and reverse) started to appear.<ref name="Jain"/> The archaeological excavations of coins have shown that these coins, as well as the new double die coins, were contemporary with those of the [[Indo-Greeks]].<ref name="Jain"/> According to [[Osmund Bopearachchi]] these coins, and particularly those depicting the goddess [[Lakshmi]], were probably minted by [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] following his invasion of Gandhara.<ref name="Bopearachchi">[[Osmund Bopearachchi]], 2016, [https://www.academia.edu/25807197/Emergence_of_Vi%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87u_and_%C5%9Aiva_Images_in_India_Numismatic_and_Sculptural_Evidence Emergence of Viṣṇu and Śiva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence]</ref>
<gallery>
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC.Hill and Tree.jpg|Taxila coin with hill and tree-in-railing (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila single dye coin.jpg|Taxila single-die coin with [[Lakshmi]] and [[arched-hill symbol]] (185-160 BCE).
File:Taxila single die coin with bull.jpg|Taxila single die coin with bull and arched-hill symbol (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Karshapana.jpg|Taxila coin (185-168 BCE).
File:TaxilaCoin200-100BCE.JPG|Taxila coin.
File:TaxilaCoinBM.JPG|Taxila coin.
</gallery>

===Double-die coins (185 BCE onward)===
[[File:Triratna on Taxila coin 185-168 BCE detail.jpg|thumb|[[Triratna]] symbol on a Taxila coin, 185-168 BCE (detail).]]
Progressively, after 185 BCE and the Greek invasion, coins were cast on both sides.<ref name="Brown"/> These coins are generally anonymous, and can carry [[Brahmi]] or [[Kharoshthi]] legends. These coins have quite specific types, depending mainly on the region where they were struck. Coins with a lion device are mainly known from [[Taxila]], while coins with other symbols such as the [[Swastika]] or the [[Bodhi tree]] are attributed to the region of [[Gandhara]].<ref name="Brown"/> These coins were cast during the rule of Indo-Greek kings [[Pantaleon]] and [[Agathocles]] in the area of [[Gandhara]], and they are generally contemporary with those of Indo-Greek rulers.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=23986 CNG notice]</ref><ref name="Jain"/>

====Symbolic designs====
<gallery>
File:Taxila coin with wheel and Buddhist symbols.jpg|Taxila coin with wheel and Buddhist symbols. (185-160 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage) Symbols.jpg|Taxila coin (circa 180 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage) Circa 185-168 BC Karshapana.jpg|Taxila coin (circa 180 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Hill-hiranyasame type.jpg|Taxila coin with hill, [[flame palmette]] plant and ''hirañasame'' "The Golden Hermitage" in [[Kharoshthi]] (185-168 BCE).<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0NA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA835 Taxila, Amanda Gosh, p.835, Nos. 46-48]</ref>
File:Taxila (local coinage) Circa 180-160 BC Half Karshapana.jpg|Taxila coin, with hill, empty cross and [[palmette]] (180-160 BCE).
</gallery>

====Animal designs====
Indo-Greek influence in the portrayal of the animal has been claimed, especially regarding the horses and lions of the Gandharan coins, which are said to be "distinctly Greek in style".<ref>"The portrayal of horses and lions on these Gandharan coins is distinctly Greek in style." Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian coinage - Michael Mitchiner - 1975, Volume 1 - Page 310</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0NA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA856 Taxila, John Marshall, Cambridge University Press, p.856]</ref> The horse is generally shown with the specific symbol of a star. This design can be found in Greek coinage, such as that of [[Ophellas]], a former officer of Alexander, as governor in [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]], [[North Africa]].
<gallery>
File:Taxila Post Mauryan local coinage Circa 185-168 BC.jpg|Taxila coin, elephant with [[arched-hill symbol]] (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC. Elephant and Horse.jpg|Taxila coin with elephant and horse under star (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila coin brown.jpg|Taxila double-dye coin (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila coin.jpg|Taxila coin with elephant and lion (185-168 BCE)
File:Taxila coin with horse and facing elephant.jpg|Taxila coin with horse and facing elephant (185-160 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Elephant and Horse.jpg|Taxila coin with elephant and horse (185-168 BCE)
File:Taxila (local coinage). 185-168 BC. Elephant Plant and Horse.jpg|[[Pushkalavati]] coin with elephant and horse (185-168 BCE)
File:Taxila gold coin 185-170 BC.jpg|Taxila gold coin (185-170 BCE).
</gallery>

====Anthropomorphic or textual designs====
<gallery>
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC.jpg|Demon with arched-hill symbol on top of the head, plant. (185-160 BCE).
File:Taxila (local coinage). Circa 185-168 BC Demon and plant.jpg|Taxila coin with demon and plant. (185-168 BCE).
File:Taxila local coinage. Circa 185-168 BC. A (20mm, 3.94 g, 6h). Negamaa in Brahmi Reverse Dojaka in Brahmi.jpg|Taxila coin. Obverse: Negamā in Brahmi. Reverse Dojaka in [[Brahmi]]. (185-168 BC)
</gallery>

Later, humped or elephant images are known from [[Ayodhya]], [[Kausambi]], [[Panchala]] and [[Mathura]]. The coins of Ayodhia generally have a humped bull on the reverse, while the coins of [[Kausambi]] display a tree with railing.<ref name="Brown"/>

==Indian-standard coinage of the Greeks (185 BCE onward)==
[[File:Apollodotus I early coinage symbols.jpg|thumb|300px|The first Indian coins of [[Apollodotus I|Apollodotus]] used Indian symbols. These coins associated the elephant with the Buddhist [[Chaitya]] or [[arched-hill symbol]], sun symbols, six-armed symbol, and a river. The bull had a [[Nandipada]] in front. The symbol at the top of the bull is only a [[mint mark]]. These symbols disappeared soon after, and only the elephant and the bull remained.]]
The Indo-Greeks, following their invasion of the Indian subcontinent circa 185 BCE, in turn started to mint their own coins in the Indian standard (Indian weight, square shape, and less often round shape) with bilingual inscriptions, from the reign of [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]] (190-180 BCE).

===Symbolism===
In addition to their own [[Attic weight|Attic]] coins, Greek kings thus started to issue bilingual Greek-[[Prakrit]] coins in the Indian standard, often taking over numerous symbols of the Post-Mauryan Gandhara coins, such as the [[arched-hill symbol]] and the tree-in-railing or Goddess [[Lakshmi]] at the beginning, and depictions of the bull and elephant later.

===Legends===
Several coins of king [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]] use the [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''Akathukreyasa'' "[[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]]" on the obverse, and ''Hirañasame'' on the reverse (as one of the known coins of Taxila above). ''Hirañasame'' would mean "The Golden Hermitage", an area of [[Taxila]] (preferred interpretation), or if read '''Hitajasame'' would mean "Good-fame possessing", a direct translation of "Agathokles"<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi p.176">Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi, p.176</ref><ref>Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals, Parmanand Gupta, Concept Publishing Company, 1989, p.126 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&pg=PA126]</ref>
<gallery>
File:Pantaleon with Lakshmi and Lion.jpg|Coinage of [[Pantaleon]] with dancing woman ([[Lakshmi]]?) and lion.
File:Agatocles Chaitya.jpg|Coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]]. '''Obv''' [[Arched-hill symbol|Six-arched hill symbol]] with star on top, [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''Akathukreyasa'' "[[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]]". '''Rev''' Tree-in-railing and legend ''Hirañasame''.<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="Indo-Grecques, Bopearachchi p.176"/>
File:Bilingual Coin of Agathocles of Bactria.jpg|Coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]]. '''Obv''' Stupa surmounted by a star, [[Kharoshthi]] legend ''Akathukreyasa'' "[[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]]". '''Rev''' vegetal symbol and ''hirañasame'' (185-168 BCE).<ref name="books.google.com"/>
File:AgathoklesCoinage.jpg|Indian coinage of [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]], with Buddhist lion and [[Lakshmi]].
File:Coin of the Bactrian King Agathokles.jpg|Coin of [[Agathocles of Bactria|Agathocles]] with [[Hindu]] deities: [[Vasudeva]]-[[Krishna]] and [[Balarama]]-[[Samkarshana]] (found at [[Ai-Khanoum]]).
File:Demetrius I MET coin.jpg|thumb|Coin of Demetrius I. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].
</gallery>

===Normalization===
[[File:Helioclesii.jpg|thumb|300px|Bronze coin of [[Heliokles II]] (95-80 BCE)<br>'''Obv:''' Bust of diademed king. Greek legend: BASILEOS DIKAIOU HELIOKLEOUS "Of King Heliocles the Just"<br>'''Rev:''' Kharoshti (Indian) translation, elephant advancing left.]]
Later on, from the second half of the reign of [[Apollodotus I]] (ruled 180-160 BCE), legends would become standardized, with simply the King's name and attribute in Greek on the obverse and Kharoshthi [[Prakrit]] on the reverse. The usage of Indian symbols would become much more restrained, generally limited to the illustration of the elephant and the [[zebu]] bull. There are two major exceptions however: [[Menander I]] and [[Menander II]] used the Indian [[Dharmachakra|Wheel of the Law]] on some of their coins, suggesting an affiliation with [[Buddhism]], which is also described in literary sources.

However the usage of bilingualism would endure, at first coexisting with [[Attic]]-standard coins, and later becoming exclusive. The last Indo-Greek kings even went as far as issuing some Prakrit-only coinage. The period of Indo-Greek coinage in northwestern India would last until the beginning of our era.<ref name="Brown"/>

<gallery>
File:Apollodotus zebu with nandipada hump.jpg|Coin of [[Apollodotus I]] (180-160 BCE).
File:Menander with elephant.jpg|[[Menander I]] (155-130 BCE) coin with elephant.
File:Menander II with wheel.jpg|Silver Drachm of [[Menander II]] (95-80 BCE) with [[Zeus]] and [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] handing a victory wreath to a [[Dharmachakra|Wheel of the Law]]<ref>Bopearachchi 4A and note 4; Bopearachchi & Rahman -; SNG ANS</ref>
</gallery>

Indo-Greek coinage in Gandhara would continue for nearly two centuries, until it was taken over by the coinage of the [[Indo-Scythians]], the [[Indo-Parthians]] and the [[Yuezhi]] (future [[Kushans]]).

==See also==
* [[Coinage of India|Coinage of South Asia]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Gandhara}}
{{Hellenistic coinage}}
{{Historic Indian currency and coinage}}

[[Category:Coins of India]]