Menander I, 155-130 BC, Drachm

Menander I, drachm, AR, reign circa 155–130 BC, uncertain mint, 2.38 g, 16 mm. Obverse with Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ MENANΔPOY surrounding the diademed portrait of Menander I right. Reverse with Kharoshthi legend Maharajasa tratarasa Menamdrasa around the corresponding reverse type of the series; devices and legend clear and centered on a compact flan. Even strike with minor weakness at the periphery typical for the issue; lightly worn surfaces. SNG ANS 822/41.

Menander I is among the most historically documented Indo-Greek rulers, associated in ancient sources with the consolidation of Greek power in the northwestern Indian subcontinent and with sustained Hellenistic cultural and monetary influence in the region. His bilingual coinage, combining Greek and Kharoshthi legends, reflects administrative practice in a multilingual frontier kingdom and provides primary evidence for political authority, titulature, and the circulation of Hellenistic-style silver currency across South Asia in the mid-2nd century BC.