Eucratides, 171-145 BC, Tetradrachm

Eucratides I the Great, AR Tetradrachm, 171–145 BC; minted in Paropamisadai or Gandhara; 16.19 g; 34 mm. Helmeted and draped bust of Eucratides right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull’s horn and ear. On the reverse, the Dioscuri on horseback, each holding a spear, stars above; legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟY ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ. Struck on the Attic standard on a broad flan, attributed to the Paropamisadai/Gandhara series. Bopearachchi Série 6E.

Eucratides I consolidated and expanded Greco-Bactrian power across the Hindu Kush, moving into Paropamisadai and Gandhara while contending with Indo-Greek and Parthian rivals. The explicit epithet “MEGALOU” on his coinage and the Dioscuri type are hallmarks of his issues, linking royal status with elite cavalry. Production in the trans-Himalayan mints reflects control of routes between Bactria and northwestern India, and his Attic-standard silver influenced the monetary systems of subsequent Indo-Greek polities.