Menander I, 155-130 BC, Drachm

Menander I, drachm, AR, reign 155–130 BC, uncertain mint, 2.21 g, 17 mm. Obverse with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY, naming Menander as “Saviour King,” with the royal portrait type customary for this issue. Reverse with Kharoshthi legend Maharajasa tratarasa Menamdrasa, presenting the same titulature in the local script. Well-centered for the type, with clear legends on both sides and lightly toned silver. Bopearachchi 16l.

Menander I was among the most important Indo-Greek rulers, and his bilingual coinage documents the administrative and cultural conditions of Hellenistic authority in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. The paired Greek and Kharoshthi inscriptions reflect a monetary system intended for circulation across Greek- and Prakrit-speaking communities, providing primary evidence for political control, royal titulature, and the integration of Hellenistic portrait traditions with local written practice during the mid-2nd century BC.